Ataturk

There is a Turkish saying which goes, "Kim takar Yalova kaymakam?n??" One version of the story is that the newly-appointed Yalova district governor arrived in town on the same day Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, was expected. An overexcited crowd was waiting at the port and the poor district governor thought the welcome was for him.

On Monday, one of Turkey?s many pro-Erdo?an newspapers, Yeni ?afak, published a series of documents allegedly proving that Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, died because of poisoning. The plot to kill him was conspired in ?freemasonry lodges? and the culprits included ?smet ?nönü, Atatürk?s ?second man,? who replaced him as president when he died in 1938.

They badmouthed Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. They described, excuse me, those generations that have made the “walk to the West” - the direction of civilization of the national awakening - as “drunkards.”

The metropolitan of Thessaloniki, Anthimos, has never been known to be a man of compassion and peace, especially when the subject contained any of the words Turkey, Turkish or Turk.