MUSTAPHA KEMAL ( Ataturk ), showed a path seldom followed in history. To save the Turkish people’s future, he did everything to get rid of its empire: the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, he used the most radical means to change the Turks and make them European, changing not only institutions, but also religion and written language. He forced “his” people, deeply rooted in a traditional peasant culture, to adopt a way of life based on reason and science paramount to him. He illustrates the kind of dictator making a radical change in a very short time and without transition. That’s why Turkey is nowadays torn between becoming part of the European Union and developing a stronger cooperation with Central Asia.
Copyright: Alice Labrèque and Jean Routier, Québec, 2012-2013.