Inspectorates-General (Turkey)

Inspectorates-General[1] or General Inspectorates[2] (Turkish: Umumi Müfettişlikler) was a regional governorship whose authorities prevailed over civilian, military and judicial institutions under their domain[1] but had to comply with the orders of Turkish president Mustafa Kemal.[2] Their aim was to establish an authoritarian rule[1] and to consolidate the authority in the process of Turkification of religious and ethnic minorities.[3]

The Turkish Grand National Assembly got the law numbered 1164 and dated June 25, 1927, passed. On January 1, 1928, the First Inspectorate-General (Birinci Umumi Müfettişlik) including the provinces of Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Urfa, Bitlis, Van, Hakkâri, Siirt and Mardin was established with the center in Diyarbakır.[4]

Before Thrace pogroms, on February 19, 1934, the Second Inspectorate-General (İkinci Umumi Müfettişlik) including Kırklareli, Edirne, Tekirdağ and Çanakkale provinces, was established with the center in Edirne[5]

On August 25, 1935, the Third Inspectorate-General (Üçüncü Umumi Müfettişlik) including Ağrı, Kars, Artvin, Rize, Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Erzincan and Erzurum provinces, was established with the center in Erzurum.[6][7]

Before Dersim Rebellion, on June 6, 1936, the Fourth Inspectorate-General (Dördüncü Umumi Müffetişlik) was established in historical Dersim region that includes Tunceli, Elazığ and Bingöl provinces, with the center in Elazığ.[5]

In December 1936 a conference of the Inspector-Generals of all the four Inspectorates-Generals together with the Minister of the Interior Şükrü Kaya was held and an evaluation of the Turkification program was prepared. The Inspector-Generals compared their results for three days. The First Inspectorate-General Abidin Özmen [tr] demanded a closure of the border with Syria as he complained that from Syria the Kurds, Yazidis and Armenians received support.[8]

The Inspectorates General were disestablished in 1952 under the government of the Democrat Party.[9]

See also

Sources

  1. ^ a b c Soner Çaǧaptay, Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk?, Taylor & Francis, 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-38458-2, pp. 47-48.
  2. ^ a b Hamit Bozarslan, "Emergency of Kurdish Nationalism and struggle in the late Ottoman Empire", The Cambridge history of Turkey: Turkey in the modern world, Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-521-62096-3, p. 342.
  3. ^ Cemil Koçak, Umumi Müfettişlikler (1927-1952), İletişim Yayınları, 2003, ISBN 978-975-05-0129-6, p. 144. (in Turkish)
  4. ^ Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, Güney Doğu, İstanbul, p. 66. (in Turkish)
  5. ^ a b Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, ibid, p. 66, 194. (in Turkish)
  6. ^ Cumhuriyet, August 26, 1935. (in Turkish)
  7. ^ Erdal Aydoğan, "Üçüncü Umumi Müffetişliği'nin Kurulması ve III. Umumî Müffetiş Tahsin Uzer'in Bazı Önemli Faaliyetleri", Atatürk Yolu, Ankara Üniversitesi Türk İnkılâp Tarihi Enstitüsü, Vol. 33-34, pp. 1-14. (in Turkish)
  8. ^ Üngör, Ugur Ümit (1 March 2012). The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1950. OUP Oxford. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-0-19-164076-6.
  9. ^ Bozarslan, Hamit (2008-04-17). Fleet, Kate; Faroqhi, Suraiya; Kasaba, Reşat; Kunt, I. Metin (eds.). The Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge University Press. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-521-62096-3.