1919 Greeks and Turks

The Kemalists’ narrow brand of nationalism has helped to suppress the country’s sensitivity to minorities. At Anit Kabir, one of the huge murals in the museum below Ataturk’s tomb depicts the Greek army marching through occupied Anatolia in 1919, with a soldier on horseback about to bayonet a beautiful Turkish girl. In the background is a Greek cleric brandishing a cross and inciting the soldiers. The picture caption explains (in English): “During these massacres the fact that clerics played a provoking role has been proven by historical evidence.” As anti-clerical as Ataturk was (whatever the faith), it is hard to believe that he would have approved of such a message.

Source: The Economist, “The wrongs and rights of minorities,” March 19, 2005.