CAPITAL ANKARA

Turkey is a republic founded on the ruins of a collapsed Ottoman Empire on 29 October 1923. The founders of the republic had to fight against the nations who have invaded Ottoman Empire, as well as the broken-down government of Ottoman Empire for four years, until they reached this date. This war was administered from Ankara and the Republic was declared in Ankara.

When Mustafa Kemal, who would establish the republic and who would get the name Ataturk in the future, has moved from İstanbul to Samsun to create a new state from broken-down Ottoman Empire, the date was 15 May 1919. On that day,

“How are you Ankara?”

The answer was exceeding the expectations, hopes; all welcomers cried together:

“We came to see you; we came to die on your way”.

The final decision of the struggle was given there, in that moment and the good fate of Ankara was started. Ankara warmly embraced Mustafa Kemal and his friends, with love. This love was also supported by financial contributions. Turkish War of Independence was directed from Ankara. Turkish Grand National Assembly, which has been opened in 23 April 1920, became the center of all events. This Assembly leaded by Mustafa Kemal Pasha completed the Turkish War of Independence in 9 September 1922, with the liberation of İzmir.

This success was a sign of hope for all the people who are in captivity. Mahatma Gandhi, who read this news in a newspaper said that “this should be considered” and celebrated it by lighting a fire, as narrated by J. Pandit Nehru. Even after so many years, the pictures of Atatürk are found on the bullet-riddled bodies of freedom fighters of different countries.

But there was a weird situation. Although Turkish Foreign Ministry was in Ankara, the representatives of the countries were in Istanbul. All activities and international relations of the new state were managed from Ankara, but the Embassies were in İstanbul, which created a gap as well as gave an image such that the new state was not accepted. For these reasons, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened an office in İstanbul. This office called as “Istanbul Delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” was to establish the relations between the ministry and foreign representative offices. The time was the days of Lausanne.

This report converted the uneasiness of all the other countries to discomfort. In a short span of time, this discomfort reached the point of “creating a common fight against Ankara by launching a diplomatic attack”. The reason of this response was very simple: establishing diplomatic relations with the new Turkish state narrowed with new boundaries after the Ottoman Empire, which has been a big country in terms of land area, was something that they could not accept since they have not saturated it. Accepting such a relationship would be “overplaying this small and poor state, overestimating it”.

Other countries would not delay joining this diplomatic attack that England has leaded. All problems that came to the mind were divulged in the form of threat to prevent Ankara to be the capital. The issue was even brought to the agenda at the Lausanne conference and the famous Lord Curzon has spoken softly but carried a big stick to Ismet Pasha by reminding that they have to deal with a variety of problems during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish State and they have to find solutions to them. Ismet Pasha disappointed these efforts of creating burdens with his own methods.

Date, 24 July 1923 ...

Lausanne Conference was ended as a political victory of the Turkish State.

Date, 6 October 1923... Turkish soldiers entered Istanbul and the invasion of Istanbul ended. Occupation forces cleared out saluting the Turkish flag and the Turkish troops in Dolmabahçe.

Date, 13 October 1923... The sole-article draft law brought by Malatya representative İsmet Pasha and 13 friends on 9 October was accepted:

In the Hittite period Ankara had been used as a military garrison. Afterwards, Phrygians have ruled this area and they have established the city.

“The authority of the State Administration of Turkey (the capital), is the city of Ankara”.

Ankara, the poor and deprived steppe town, the greatest supporter of the independence war, which devoted its blood, life, efforts, with all of its being was now the capital of Turkish state in spite of almost all countries’ resistance, obstructiveness, challenges posed, threats made, conditions imposed. Some states stopped ambassador assignment preparations that they have started; some states postponed the assignment of ambassadors expecting that Istanbul would eventually be the capital again. Some states suggested assigning an ambassador to Istanbul and a junior diplomat to Ankara, whereas some others proposed that its ambassador should reside in Istanbul even though the capital was Ankara. France and Italy suggested that there were no buildings where their embassies would be settled in Ankara, which should be provided first. On the other hand, England outdistanced all of them and threatened that “it would not assign a representative to Turkey”. Nothing dissuades the leaders of the Turkish State. The journey has been started and it would proceed. In spite of all. The capital of Turkey was set as Ankara and in spite of all resistances; the representatives of all the countries would come to Ankara after a while. The ambassadors of Afghanistan, Soviet Union and Poland, who were used to live in Ankara since 1921, 1923 and 1924, didn’t make Ankara being the capital a problem and joined those who were residing here since the beginning. Turkish government has welcomed these arrivals by “giving free land to build the embassy buildings”. Ambassadors liked the vineyards and orchards located between Yenişehir-Çankaya, requested and taken them. Starting from 1925, this zone became “the construction site of the embassies” for 5-6 years.

Henceforth, the fight of making Ankara the capital would go through certain stages and it would be concluded with the victory of Ankara in January 1930. Ankara reached the position that it has deserved with the sweat of his brow, the power of the wrist since 27 December 1919.

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