The 1993 Sivas Massacre of Dozens of Turkish Intellectuals and Others by Muslims,burned to Death in a Hotel

| July 6, 2011 | Comments (1)

Dozens of Turkish Intellectuals and others burned to Death in a Hotel because among them was Aziz Nesin,Great Writer and Turkish Translator of the Satanic Verses

First of all,to know more about Rushdie and the Satanic Verses affair read:

http://www.antisharia.com/2011/06/28/the-strange-case-of-rushdie-converting-to-islam-and-then-saying-it-was-a-pretense/

On July 2, 1993 a group of 33 Turkish intellectuals,artists, writers and musicians were burned alive in Sivas,Turkey during an intellectual meeting in a hotel.One of the few survivors was Aziz Nesin(1915—1995) ,78 years-old at the time, one of the greatest Turkish writers.He was an open and public atheist.He had recently translated The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie.The reason hundreds of Muslims killed dozens of Turkish intellectuals was because among them was the Turkish translator of the Satanic Verses.

The intellectual congress was there as part of celebrations of 16th century Alevi poet, Pir Sultan Abdal. Alevism is a sect of Islam.Their community numbers above 10 million in Turkey or 15% of the population,the second largest religious group in the country.Alevism is a softer version of Islam that allows men and women to worship together, includes elements of dance and singing and doesn’t command that a woman should cover her face or head.

The crowd of Muslims that killed dozens of intellectuals numbered in the hundreds and before the event a local paper called Hakikat, originally an Arabic word associated with Islam, meaning “the truth”,had quoted Nesin’s words: “What should I believe of the Koran that was written a thousand years ago?”

The Day of the Massacre was a Friday

It was a Friday,the Muslim holy day.This is the day that hundreds of men gather in mosques.Groups left mosques after their prayers shouting “damn secularism”, “Sivas will be Nesin’s grave” and “Death to the infidel!”.A crowd of hundreds gathered around Madimak Hotel,where the intellectuals had their meeting, and started throwing objects through its windows.

Then the hotel was set on fire. The fire brigade arrived, late, unwilling to rescue, without any space to manoeuver and managed to rescue practically only one person.The rest suffocated, trapped inside burning rooms.Nesin was beaten on the rescue ladder on his way down to the ground.Besides the 33 Alevi intellectuals,two hotel employees died and two people from the mob,a total of 37 dead.It was a bloodbath of la creme de la creme of Turkey’s cultural representatives.

Aziz Nesin escaped by a Miracle

As I said he was practically the only one rescued but it was by mistake.According to what has been researched the police did nothing to intervene.Aziz Nesin was able to escape only because attackers initially failed to recognize him,that was why he was not lynched immediately.When rescuers eventually realized his identity, he was beaten by firemen while a city councilman, Cafer Özçakmak, from the Welfare Party shouted, “This is the devil we should have really killed.”

Who was Pir Sultan Abdal,the man in whose honor the meeting was?

Pir Sultan Abdal (1480 – 1550) was a legendary Turkish Alevi poet who was born in Sivas,Turkey.He was a humanist, and wrote about resistance, love, peace, death and God. He was also rebellious against authoritarian rule which ended with his being hung by the Ottomans.His verses which call for the rights and freedoms of the peasants soon attracted a lot of support among the masses who supported these ideals and as a result he was hung.

Who was Aziz Nesin(1915—1995) ,the reason why dozens were burned alive?

As mentioned before he was one of Turkey’s greatest writers and an open atheist,translator of Rushdie’s Satanic Verses into Turkish and author of more than 100 books.In his books he made a strong indictment of the oppression and brutalization of the common man in Turkey,satirized the bureaucracy and exposed economic inequities in stories that combine local color and universal truths.He championed free speech, especially the right to criticize Islam without compromise.

Helping 4 New Poor Children every year

In 1972, he founded the Nesin Foundation.The purpose of the Nesin Foundation is to take, each year, four poor and destitute children into the Foundation’s home and provide every necessity:shelter, education and training, starting from elementary school till they complete high school, a trade school, or till they acquire a vocation. Aziz Nesin donated, gratis, to the Nesin Foundation his copyrights in their entirety for all his works in Turkey or other countries, including all of his published books, all plays to be staged, all copyrights for films, and all his works performed or used in radio or television.

What happened later to the guilty

The event was a major assault on free speech and human rights in Turkey. After a long trial 33 people were sentenced to death in 1997 for their roles in the massacre; 31 of these sentences were upheld in a 2001 appeal.When Turkey overturned the death penalty just over a year later in 2002, the sentences were commuted to life in prison.

Each year on the anniversary of the massacre, demonstrators hold protests and vigils to commemorate the victims of the fire.Many wish to see the hotel, which has since re-opened, declared a memorial and turned into a museum.

The Books written by Aziz Nesrin

1.Istanbul Boy: The Autobiography of Aziz Nesin

2.Turkish Stories from Four Decades:a short story collection

3.Dog Tails:a short story collection

4.Memoirs Of An Exile:an autobiographical memoir about his exile to Bursa.

5.Hayri the Barber(novel)

6.Out of the Way! Socialism’s Coming!:

A selection of three stories.The volume consists of the stories;
Out of the Way! Socialism’s Coming!
The Inspector’s Coming
The Lunatics Break Loose

7.The Dance of the Eagle and the Fish:it is a children’s book

8.The Tales of Nasrettin Hoca:a short story collection

9.Laugh or Lament:more short stories.

Sources about the Massacre

http://www.turkeyemergency.com/the-sivas-massacre/

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/9331717.asp

http://hereticallibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/07/sivas-massacre-15-years-later.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivas_massacre

 

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