Ahıska Türkleri Kimdir?
İstanbul Üniversitesi Mezunları Derneği USA, Ahıska Türklerinin Gürcistan’dan sürgün edilmesinin 64. Yıldönümü nedeni ile “Ahıska Türkleri kimdir?” başlıklı bir etkinlik düzenliyor. Programa, Indiana Üniveristesi öğretim üyesi Çiğdem Balım Harding ve Ahıska Türkleri Derneği Başkanı Tayışan Muradoğlu’nun konuşmacı olarak katılacak. Programda, Ahıska Türkleri Müzik ve Dans Grubu’nun gösterisi ve Ahıska Türkleri’nin hazırladığı yöresel yiyecekler de yer alacak.
Tarih: 13 Aralık 2008
Saat: 6.30 PM
Adres: Türkevi, Türkevi 821 UN Plaza New York, NY 10017
A key to understanding why the maintenance of Iraq's territorial integrity is viewed by many as critical is knowledge of the country's enormous ethnic and religious diversity, the aspirations of these groups and the problems they now face. One of these ethno-linguistic groups is the Turkmen [ ], who have made a major effort to define themselves, both internally and to the world community. Their real population has always been suppressed by the authorities in Iraq for political reasons and is officially estimated at 2%, whereas in reality their number should be put between 2.5 and 3 million, i.e. 12% of the Iraqi population. The Turkmen of Iraq settled in Turkmeneli (Turkmen land) [ ]. Over the centuries, Turkmen have played a constructive role in Iraq, either by defending against foreign invaders or by bringing civilisation. Their monuments and architectural remains exist all over Iraq and they lived in harmony with all ethnic groups around them. They lived with justice and tolerance.
The Turkmen are a Turkic group with a unique heritage and culture, as well as linguistic, historical and cultural links with the surrounding Turkic groups, such as those in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Their spoken language is closer to Azeri but their official written language is similar to the Turkish spoken in present-day Turkey. The Turkmen of Iraq settled in Turkmeneli in three successive and constant migrations from Central Asia, and increased their numbers; this enabled them to establish six states in Iraq:
1. The Seljuks
2. The Atabegs
3. The Ilkhanids
4. The Jalairids
5. The Kara Koyunlu, “Black sheep”
6. The Ak Koyunlu, “White sheep”
Turkmen have been living in present Iraq for over a millennium. Yet, since they were left outside the borders of a new Turkey in an artificially created Iraq, Turkmen felt the heavy-handed treatment by successive Arab rulers, the worst of whom were the Ba’ath Party. Though the Turkmen of Iraq consist one of the three major entities of the modern Iraqi State, the Turkmen have had the least of advantages. Since the foundation of Iraq in the aftermath of the First World War, the existence of Turkmen has been denied by the official regimes in Baghdad in accordance with the state’s policy. It was the attempt at sealing the border with Turkey that motivated the Baghdad regime, and their protector Britain, to deliberately ignore the existence of the Turkmen people in the early years of Iraq.
Turkmen The Iraqi Turkmen live in an area that they call “Turkmenia” in Latin or “Turkmeneli” which means, “Land of the Turkmen”. It was referred to as “Turcomania” by the British geographer William Guthrie in 1785. The Turkmen are Turkic groups that have a unique heritage and culture as well as linguistic, historical and cultural links with the surrounding Turkic groups such as those in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Their spoken language is closer to Azeri but their official written language is like the Turkish spoken in present-day Turkey.
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