| An Armenian with a Medal of Independence: Berç Keresteciyan Türker
After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the British deep state furthered its policy on an independent Armenian state in East Anatolia. This propaganda led some Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire to aspire to a nation-state and to rebel against the Ottoman Empire. However, many other Ottoman citizens of Armenian origin understood that this was only a plot of the British deep state and refused to be a part of it. Berç Keresteciyan, who later obtained the surname Türker upon suggestion from Atatürk, was one of the heroes of the Turkish War of Independence.
Prior to Mustafa Kemal's departure on SS Bandırma for Samsun, Keresteciyan went to Sadettin Ferit, who was Mustafa Kemal's lawyer and said: "I believe you are his attorney and a close associate. A British torpedo will sink the steamer of the Pasha outside the Bosphorus. I'm warning you. Please tell Pasha and keep to the coastline." With this very important message, he displayed an exemplary loyalty to his country and people, and became almost as important as those people that ignited the fire of the Turkish War of Independence.
Moreover, as the Vice Chairman of the Hilal-i Ahmer Society (now known as the Turkish Red Crescent), he personally took care of sending medication to Anatolia using small sailing boats. It is also a recorded fact that during one of the most critical points of the Battle of Sakarya, upon the request of Mustafa Kemal, he withdrew 15 thousand Lira from his personal account and donated it so that cannon firing equipment could be purchased. For these exemplary services, he was later awarded with a White Stripe Medal of Independence.1
1. Fehmi Akın, Afyonkarahisar milletvekilleri: yaşam öyküleri ve meclisteki faaliyetleri [Afyonkarahisar MPs: Life Stories and Parliamentary Works], IQ Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık, 2009, pp. 107-108
Dostları ilə paylaş: |
