Topal Osman
Topal Osman Agha (1883, Giresun – April 1, 1923, Ankara) was a Turkish militia leader of the late Ottoman and early Republican periods. He commanded the 42nd Giresun Volunteer Regiment and 47th Giresun Volunteer Regiment. His last rank was Lieutenant-colonel of militia (Milis Yarbayı )[1].
Contents |
[edit] Life
[edit] Balkan Wars
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} |
This section requires expansion. |
He was a veteran of the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars where he became Lame (Turkish: topal).
[edit] Murder of Ali Shukri Bey
For his work in the national movement, Osman became commander of Mustafa Kemal's special "Bodyguard Regiment."[2] and his loyal vassal[clarification needed] Captain of militia Mustafa Kaptan was appointed the commander of the Guard Battalion of the Grand National Assembly[3]. He choked Trabzon deputy Ali Shukri Bey (Ali Şükrü Bey ) to death on March 27, 1923, in response to Şükrü's criticism of Mustafa Kemal.[4]
[edit] Topal Osman Affair
Mustafa Kemal ordered Ismail Hakki Bey (İsmail Hakkı Tekçe ), who was the commander of the Presidential Guard Battalion, to take Topal Osman and his fellows into custody.[1] Topal was surrounded at his hideout in Seyran Bağları wards and in the resulting exchange of fire, was wounded and captured on April 1, 1923[5].
On 2 April, at the insistence of the "Second Group", his body was dug up and hung at the gate of the parliament building (today War of Independence Museum) for exhibition to the public.[6] According to some sources, his decapitated corpse was hung in the Ulus Square.[7][8] He now rests in Giresun.[9]
[edit] Legacy
Toktamış Ateş of Istanbul University claims that former primer minister Tansu Çiller had once promised to open a university in Topal's name.[10]
A statue of him was erected in his home town of Giresun in 2007. The erection of the statue has been linked to retired Gen. Veli Küçük, currently under arrest for serving as a member of Ergenekon.[11] Küçük's first attempt to erect the statue was in 1981 but it was blocked by the Turkish Historical Society (TTK). Küçük tried again in 2001 but failed in his attempt after strong opposition from Mayor Mehmet Işık. It was finally erected in 2007 with the assistance of Ali Kara, chairman of the local small businessmen group of Giresun. Kara was one of the figures whose deposition was taken during the Ergenekon investigation.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Doğan Avcıoğlu, Millî Kurtuluş Tarihi, 1838'den 1955'e, Cilt 3, İstanbul Matbaası, 1974, p. 1195. (Turkish)
- ^ Taner Akçam, A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility, ISBN 0805079327, p. 341-2.
- ^ Cemal Şener, Topal Osman Olayı, Ant Yayınları, 1992, p. 105. (Turkish)
- ^ Ayşe Hür, "Çağımızın Bir (Başka) Kahramanı", Birikim, February 2006 (Turkish)
- ^ "1923 Timeline". Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN/BelgeGoster.aspx?17A16AE30572D313E603BF9486D4371D2858DA18F4388CDD. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
- ^ Ergün Aybars, İstiklâl Mahkemeleri: 1923-1927, Kültür ve Türizm Bakanlığı, 1982, p. 14. (Turkish)
- ^ Uğur Mumcu, Kürt-İslam Ayaklanması, 1919-1925, Tekin Yayınevi, 1991, p. 194. (Turkish)
- ^ Vahakn N. Dadrian, Taner Akçam, Tehcir ve Taktil: Divan-ı Harb-i Örfî Zabıtları İttihad ve Terakki'nin Yargılanması: 1919-1922, p. 214. (Turkish)
- ^ Teoman Alpaslan, Topal Osman Ağa efsanesi, Kum Saati Publishing, 2007.[page needed]
- ^ Ateş, Toktamış (2006-06-15). "Topal Osman ya da Osman Ağa" (in Turkish). Bugün. http://makale.turkcebilgi.com/kose-yazisi-87746-toktamis-ates-topal-osman-ya-da-osman-aga.html. Retrieved 2008-09-04. "Sayın Tansu Çiller başbakanken, Giresun'a bir 'Topal Osman Üniversitesi' vadetmesi, doğrusu canımı çok sıkmıştı."[dead link]
- ^ http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=164651
