The British rule
in Cyprus started on 12th July 1878 with the raising of the Union Jack, instead
of the Ottoman flag, when the British admiral Lord John Hay took over the
administration of the island from the last Ottoman “mutasarruf” Besim Pasha.
The first British High Commissioner, Sir Garnet Wolseley landed at Larnaca on
22nd July 1878 and a new period in the history of this Mediterranean
island began. (1)
Until the
British came to Cyprus, there was no printing house. The first printing house
was established in Larnaca right after the arrival of the British by Henry S.
King and Co., which published on 29th August 1878 the first
newspaper in Cyprus. This weekly newspaper was called “Cyprus/Kypros” and the
first two pages were in English and the other two pages in Greek. According to
Claude Delaval Cobham’s bibliography, the first book published in Cyprus was
“İstoria hronologiki dis nisu” (Chronological History of the Island) by
Archimandrite Kyprianos. This book was first printed in 1788 in Venice and its
second print was made in Larnaca in 1880. (2) The first book printed in English
in Cyprus was in 1885. “Cyprus Guide and Directory” was its title and it was
printed in Limassol. (3) The first Turkish book published in Cyprus with Arabic
letters, was “Müsameretname” (Tales for the evening entertainment). It was
printed by the Ottoman Club in Nicosia, which founded also the first Turkish
Cypriot printing house for the “Zaman” newspaper. Zaman was the second
newspaper published on 25th December 1891, following “Saded”, the
first ever newspaper in Turkish language in Cyprus, which was published weekly
from 11th July to 14th November 1889, only 16 numbers.
(4)
British scholar
C. F. Beckingham, who made one of the first scientific studies on Turkish
Cypriots, writes that until December 1892, there was no Turkish book printed in
Cyprus according to the records and the number of them could not reach 40 in
the year 1914. (5)
When the British
came to Cyprus in 1878, the Turkish Cypriots had three types of school. These
were Sibyans, Roushties and Medreses and their administration was in the hands
of the Evkaf (a religious trust institution). According to a report by Mr.
M.Sager on Evqaf Properties, dated 1883, the number of these schools was about
70, consisting of 22 in Nicosia, 8 in Larnaca, 5 in Limassol, 16 in Paphos, 13
in Famagusta and 6 in Kyrenia. There were 114 teachers employed in all these
schools. 47 of them were being employed by the Ottoman Government, 47 of them
by Evqaf and the other 20 were being paid by the people of the village, where
they served. (6)
At the Sibyan
School the subjects taught were the Alphabet, Hand-writing, Reading, the Koran
and Arithmetic. Children started going to the Cyprus Sibyan Schools, when they
were 4 years, 4 months and 4 days old. Because the teacher instructed each
child individually, the admittance of children throughout the year constituted
no problem. Although the normal period of instruction lasted for four years,
those, who wished to attend the school beyond this period of instruction, could
stay on until they were ten. At the end of this period of instruction, the
well-to-do families sent their children to the medrese, whilst the poor and
those, who wanted to discontinue, entered an apprenticeship in crafts or
commerce. (7) In the medrese of preparatory and secondary school level, subjects
such as Arithmetic, Cosmography, Grammar, Syntax, Geometry, Moslem Philosophy,
Logic and Discussion were taught… The Roushties were the establishments, which
provided education in the modern sense with the “class” system. Although
religious teaching and Arabic continued, greater importance was attached to
subjects such as Natural Sciences, Algebra and Turkish. (8)
When the
administration of the island was taken over by the British in 1878, a change
was made in the status of the Evqaf and its administration was henceforth
carried on by the two Delegates of the Evqaf, one of them being Turkish and the
other English. Education was controlled by the Evqaf and since the Evqaf
directed the Education, the British began to have a say in Turkish Cypriot Education
from the very start. Their first course of action was to set up the “Moslem
Board of Education” in 1884. This Board consisted of nine leading citizens of
the time, headed by the Qadi (The Judge) and the Mufti (Religious Head). It
undertook the administration of all the Turkish schools in the Island… One of
the most important deeds of the Education Board was the decision to open “The
Idadi”, a five-year institution, the equivalent of the present Lyceums, on the
14th November 1896. (9)
In 1880, at the
request of the British High Commissioner in Cyprus, an inspection of a number
of schools in the island was undertaken, which led to the discovery of many
grave defects, although the children were reported as intelligent and quick to
learn. The result of these inquiries was the appointment in 1880 of an English
Director of Education. The Secretary of State, Lord Kimberley, was unable to
agree with the High Commissioner’s views as to the prominence to be given to
English teaching, the making of it the vehicle of education or “placing it as a
language for general use in any way on level with the two ancient languages of
the island.” (10)
That assessment
explains why the British necessarily kept the Christian and Moslem schools
quite distinct. With the introduction of the Education Law of 1895, there were
two separate boards of Education, one Christian and the other Moslem. This
decision had its implications until today.
The first
elected Moslem Board of Education in Nicosia met on 29th March 1884
and one of the decisions taken by this Board was to supply the textbooks and
the other teaching material for the Turkish Cypriot schools from Istanbul,
Turkey. (11) The same Board, elected for the years of 1896 to 1898, decided the
teaching of the Greek language in the Rushtie. (12)
In 1895, we see
the publication of “Kıbrıs Tarihi” (The History of Cyprus) by Ziver Bey in a
Nicosia Printing House. This 100 paged-book is the first Ottoman history book
on the history of the island, covering the period until the Ottoman rule. (13)
The writer notes in the preface to his book that he was sorry to write the
history of Cyprus without seeing the island. Ziver Bey was born in Lesbos and
served also in Rhodes, where he wrote a history of Rhodes in the same serial of
Ottoman islands. (14)
Ibrahim Hakki
Bey, who was working in the Department of Education and was appointed later as
the chief inspector of the Turkish Cypriot schools, published in 1906 in
Nicosia the first ever book of geography for the Turkish Cypriot elementary
schools. “Muhtasar Kıbrıs Coğrafyası” (A Concise Geography of Cyprus) was a 65
paged book, printed in the Printing House of “Foni dis Kipru” in Nicosia. Hakki
Bey wrote this in the preface: “The Moslem Board of Education decided to include
in its curriculum Geography for the 3rd and 4th classes
of the elementary schools. There was no such textbook available and I tried to
fill this gab with this book, which I prepared with the information I compiled
from the English and Greek Cypriot books and from the official government
resources.”
This book gives
detailed information about the physical geography of the island with its
climate, animals and plants. Other sections on the 6 districts of the island,
import and export, population, roads, administration and a short history of
Cyprus from the periods B.C. up to the British rule completes the book. (15)
Its second print was made in 1931.
According to the
Minutes of the Moslem Board of Education for the years of 1912 to 1914, some
Turkish Cypriot teachers proposed the Board to write the textbooks of the
elementary schools and asked if the government undertakes the cost of printing.
The Board decided that “the textbooks would be imported as before from Istanbul
and the teacher’s proposal was rejected.” (16)
The Minutes for
the year of 1916 to 1918 reads: “Because of the ongoing First World War, it was
not possible to import textbooks from Istanbul. If the chief inspector for the
schools approves, the textbooks written by Hasan Cengiz for the elementary
schools will be used locally.” (17)
The report of
1913 issued by the Education Department informs us that “the Moslems have, in
the capital (Nicosia) an admirable institution called the Idadi School, which
was, in the days before the British occupation, controlled and supported by the
Turkish Government and then receives an annual Government grant of 384 pounds.
It is controlled by a governing body and the course of instruction includes the
Turkish language, Persian and Arabic, English and Modern Greek. Mathematics is
taught on a modern and Western system and history and geography are included.”
(18)
After the
Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of Germany, Britain annexed Cyprus
on 5th November 1914, ending the sovereignty of the Ottomans on the
island. The new republic of Turkey accepted this annexation in 1923 with the
Agreement of Lausanne and the British declared Cyprus on 10th March
1925 as a “crown colony”.
In 1920 a new
Education Law was enacted, which reorganized schools “other than the Greek-
Christian”. Two major changes were brought through this law: First, the
appointment of teachers came under the power of the Turkish Board of Education,
but it was subject to confirmation by the high Commissioner; secondly, of the
total amount required to meet the expenditure for these schools half of it was
paid by the Government out of the general revenue. The Greeks resented the law,
because in proportion to the small contribution made by the Turks (a minority
of 2%) to the country’s revenue, the Government expenditure on the Turkish
schools was too big… They felt that they were educating their enemy with “their
own money”, when their hatred against the Turks had been revived because of the
tragic events in Asia Minor of 1920. (19) The law of 1923 marked the first step
towards centralization and the Greeks were forced to accept in 1923 what the
Turks had accepted in 1920.
In the Minutes
of the Moslem Board of Education in 1920-1922 period, there was a note that the
inspector of the schools told the members: “The Government is not going to
accept those textbooks, which include events about the First World War.” A
committee was formed to select the textbooks for the Turkish Cypriots after a consultation
with the Turkish Cypriot inspector of education, Mr. Ibrahim Hakki. (20)
1926 the first
Short History of Cyprus (Muhtasar Kıbrıs Tarihi) was published in Nicosia by
the Turkish Cypriot teacher, Mustafa Mithat. He was already the co-author of
another book (Muhtasar Kıbrıs Coğrafyası ve Muhtasar Kıbrıs Tarihi) published
in Istanbul in 1920, together with Ibrahim Hakki. The second print was made in
Nicosia in 1930 with the name “Mekteblere Mahsus Küçük Kıbrıs Coğrafyası ve
Küçük Kıbrıs Tarihi” (Concise Geography and Concise History of Cyprus for the
Schools). The author of the Geography section was Ibrahim Hakki Bey, who
already published his first book in 1906 in Nicosia and it covered 22 pages out
of the whole 52 pages. The section on the history of Cyprus was written by M.(Mustafa)Mithat
Bey, who was supposed to be one of the well-informed persons about the history
of the island in his time. The history of Cyprus was dealt from the geological
period up to the British occupation. The researcher, Harid Fedai, who
introduced the contents of this book in Modern Turkish, writes that this
textbook of geography and history was very useful for both the teachers and the
pupils. (21) The third print was made in 1931, again in Nicosia.
The teacher of
history at the lyceum for the boys in Nicosia, M.Mithad wrote this in the
Yearbook 1933-1934 of the school: “Within the boundaries of the general
history, as we teach the world events, it will be very appropriate to give a
special place to the individual history of our island in our schools. This is
my opinion.” (22)
The only
secondary school for the Turkish Cypriot boys was the Idadi, which was called
between 1922 and 1924 as Sultani. When the Sultan’s rule ended, the school was
called Lise (lyceum).
From the Minutes of the Moslem Board of
Education, we see a decision from the period 1922-1924 that 300 pieces of
Cyprus map were to be printed in Turkey and to be distributed to the Turkish
Cypriot schools. (23)
The Minutes from
the period 1924-1926 records a decision of the Administrative Committee for the
Turkish Secondary Schools to the effect that teachers for the history and
geography would be appointed from Turkey and the textbooks of the lyceum would
be the same as in Istanbul. The decision about the textbooks was repeated in
the Minutes for the period 1928-1930. (24) We also see a decision that starting
from 1st September 1929, books printed in Latin, instead of Arabic
Alphabet should be taught in all the Turkish Cypriot elementary schools. (25)
After the Greek
Cypriot rising of 1931 and the closure of the Legislative Council, the freedoms
were curtailed by the Governor. “With the Education Law of 1933, the
centralization system was completed. Thus: a) Textbooks were to be determined
and supplied by the Government, b) Education Board and District Committee
members were to be appointed by the Government, c) the Government was to have
complete control over the Educational Taxes, d) the Board of Education would be
reduced to the form of a consultative body only, e) in addition to these the
Land Taxes of the Turkish people would be raised, in order to meet Educational
expenses.
Up to 1933,
however, the curriculum was being determined by the Board of Education. When
this power passed to the Government under the new Law, a new curriculum was
prepared for the Elementary schools and put into practice during the
school-year 1935-36. As a result of this, the importation of the textbooks that
were being brought from Turkey until then, was prohibited. As it was possible
to prepare in Cyprus only the Primer and Reading books, instruction without a
text-book for the rest of the subjects was put into practice… In 1936 English
as a secondary language was added to the Elementary School Curriculum.” (26)
The name of the Turkish Cypriot lyceum was changed into “Islamic Lyceum”,
starting from the school-year 1936-37 and the teaching of Turkish history and
Ataturkist principles were not desirable. (27)
Panayiotis K.
Persianis writes that “contrary to what was feared, the Governor did not order
the immediate change of textbooks (for the Greek Cypriots after 1931). With the
exception of political maps showing Cyprus as part of Greek territory, which
were prohibited by the proclamation of 23 December 1936 issued under the
Seditious Publications Laws of 1931 and 1932. Readers and textbooks continued
to be imported from Greece. The Cyprus Government did not order them to be
changed even during World War 2, when the opportunity arose because of the
German Government, at the time in exile in Egypt, to reprint the textbooks in
Cyprus. The books were reprinted in 1942 and were used in Cyprus until 1948.”
(28)
The Cyprus
Turkish Lyceum in Nicosia was the centre of anti-British and pro-Turkish
nationalism activities in the 1930’s. As mentioned above, the name of the lyceum
was changed to “Islamic Lyceum” in 1937 by the newly appointed British veteran
officer Mr. Harold Wood as the headmaster of the lyceum. The appointment of
British headmasters since 1931 was already a matter of dispute between the
colonial administration and the Turkish Cypriot nationalists on one hand and
between the pro-British Evqafites and the Turkish Cypriot nationalists on the
other hand. For example, Dr.Eyyub, a member of the Legislative Council and of
the Lyceum Commission, was attacked by the other members, when he told: “Until
the Republic of Turkey will be in a position to raise up such headmasters with
enough competency and character to administer our lyceum, we have to accept the
appointment of British headmasters.” (29)
Until the
school-year 1943-1944, there was only one secondary school, that in Nicosia,
but afterwards new secondary schools were opened in Famagusta, Limassol and
Paphos for the Turkish Cypriots. The Cyprus Victoria Moslem Girls’ Technical
School, which was established in 1901 and later turned into a secondary school,
was raised to the status of a lyceum in 1952.
Education was
among the important problems dealt by the “Turkish Affairs Commission” formed
by the Colonial Government in 1948. We read from the Halkin Sesi daily on 30th
October 1948 the following: “The Turkish Cypriots give more importance to their
education in the last 10-15 years, but Mr. Cullen (the Head of Education Department)
obstructs the teaching of the elementary books imported from Turkey.”
Another report
in Halkin Sesi daily on the 8th June 1949 states: “According to the
instruction of the Governor’s deputy, the term “Turkish Cypriots” will be used,
instead of Moslems of Cyprus”.
In 1949, we see
the amendment of the Educational Law of 1935 and a new “regulation for the
curriculum” was prepared and the same coverage and time-tables for both Greek Cypriot
and Turkish Cypriot schools were accepted.
In the past
period, Halil Fikret Alasya, who was a teacher at the lyceum, published in 1939
“The History of Cyprus (B.C.1450-A.D.1878) and its main antiquities” (174
pages), but it was not used as a textbook.
Alasya later immigrated
to Turkey. Another émigré of Turkish Cypriot origin, Ismet Konur, who was a
teacher of history in Denizli, published in 1938 in Istanbul his book “Turkish
Cypriots”. The first 22 pages were about the history of Cyprus. His second book
“The History of Cyprus and the Turkish Monuments in Cyprus” was published in
1946 in Adana. Konur was very critical of the British in his both books and
they were banned in Cyprus.
Starting from
the school-year 1950-1951, the British headmaster of the lyceum retired and a
new headmaster from Turkey, who was of Turkish Cypriot origin, was appointed.
Now the school was called again as “The Turkish Lyceum”. Turkish national days
were accepted as school holidays. (30)
In 1951 “Halk ve
Çocuklara Resimli Kıbrıs Tarih Bilgisi” (Illustrated Knowledge on History for
the People and Children) was published by an elementary school teacher, Fikri
Karayel, which was used at the schools. The Department of Education was
publishing two monthly school magazines, called “Pictorial Education” and
“Children’s Journal” in Greek and Turkish languages. These publications were
distributed free of charge and the Church leaders tried to prevent their being
circulated among the Greek Cypriot children on the ground that they were
published merely for propaganda purposes. (31)
Turkish Cypriot
Board of Education for the years 1955-1956 decided to abolish the methods of
teaching without textbooks and that the history books together with the others
would be supplied from Turkey. For the school-year 1956-1957, we read this
decision in the Minutes: “Greek language will not be taught anymore at the
secondary schools and lyceums.” (32)
Again in 1956,
the new Director of Education, W. B. Tudhope, tried to break the rigid
centralization, which had remained in force since 1933. He announced a policy
of “partnership”, by which the Greek and Turkish communities were invited to
take over extensive control of their education. According to the new
arrangement, education, instead of being divided on a level basis, was
henceforth to be differentiated on a community basis. Administration was
divided between officers, who would be responsible to the Deputy Director. A
Greek Cypriot Education Officer would be responsible for the Greek elementary
and secondary education, a Turkish Cypriot for the Turkish education and a
British Officer for the Government and inter-communal schools and institutions.
(33)
One of the first
decisions of the Turkish Cypriot Board of Education, taken on 1st
April 1957, was to supply the textbooks for the school-year 1957-1958 from
Turkey. The text-books of Arithmetic, Religion and Civics were to be printed in
Cyprus. (34)
Starting from 9th
October 1958, Mr. Fuat Sami was appointed as the Turkish Cypriot Education
Officer and the Minutes of the Board was recorded only in Turkish, not anymore
in English too. (35)
The 23rd
April was declared as in Turkey a public holiday for the elementary schools.
For the school-years 1958-1958, a decision was taken for the printing of all
textbooks used in the elementary schools in Turkey. On the 9th June
1959, the administration of the Turkish Cypriot Education was given to the
Turkish Cypriot community, which decided to raise the Turkish flag every
weekend at the schools with a ceremony. (36)
At the end of
the British rule, the Turkish Cypriots had seven lyceums, three secondary
schools one institute and two technical schools. Of these, only one lyceum,
three secondary schools and one institute were being run with the financial aid
of the Government of the Turkish Republic. The ten remaining secondary
educational institutions were under the administration and control of the
Education Office. In 1960, the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus in
Article 87, paragraph b, transferred “all educational, cultural and teaching
matters” under the jurisdiction of the Turkish Cypriot Communal Chamber. (37)
In 1959, a
mainland Turkish teacher of history published “An Outline of the History of
Cyprus” in Nicosia. This was followed another book, by Ahmet Gazioğlu, a
Turkish Cypriot teacher, “Cyprus under British Rule – Matters of Status and
Constitution (1878-1960)” in 1960. Both were not used as textbooks.
Those textbooks
about geography and history of Cyprus published during the British rule were
not critical about the British administration as we examined. But the situation
changed when the British left the island and the education was left to the Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
The first
Turkish Cypriot textbook of Cyprus History, published after the clashes of
December 1963, was the one, written by a teacher of history, Vergi H. Bedevi:
“From the early beginning up to our time, The History of Cyprus”, published in
Nicosia in 1966. This 226 paged book was approved by the Turkish Department of
Education as an ancillary textbook with its decision No.28/62, dated 7th
February 1966.
The section 5 of
the book starts with “The rent of Cyprus to England”. The following evaluation
ends up the section: “The change of administration (to British) in Cyprus was
greeted by the Greek Government and the Greek Cypriots, because they were
hoping that this would end up with the union of Cyprus with Greece. Moreover,
one of the Cypriot Bishops, Kyprianos, spoke on the occasion of Sir Wolseley’s
arrival: “Like England did it for the Greek Islands, we believe that she will
help us for our annexation to our motherland Greece. That’s why we are happy
with the British administration.” (p.167)
The following sections are
as follows:
6. The British
administrative system (p.167)
7. Annexation of Cyprus to
England (p.169)
8. Cyprus in Lausanne
Agreement (p.171)
9. The change in 1925 (to
Crown Colony) (p.172)
10. Rebellion of 1931. Here
the three reasons of the rebellion were given such as:
1. Colonialist policy of England on the island and
non-recognition of the basic right
to local autonomy as she did
it in its other colonies in Asia and Africa.
2. Growing crisis of the economic situation on the island
3. Systemic propaganda for the union of Cyprus with Greece (p.173)
11. The period between 1931
and 1959. Here we see references to “two important changes in
Cyprus after the Second World War: 1) Formation
of a Communist Party, named AKEL
and 2) Labour Party gets into power in
England.” There is also information about the
political organization of Turkish
Cypriots, namely the KATAK. In 1948, main demands of
the Turkish Cypriots from the Colonial
Government are listed as follows:
1. Handing the Evqaf to the Turkish community.
2. Putting the Turkish schools out of the absolute
control of the government and the election of the members of the school
commission by the people themselves.
3. Allowing the election of a Mufti for the Turkish
community.
4. Change of the Inheritance Law for Moslems.
5. Abolition of the Religious Sheri Courts, Preparation
of a New and Modern Family Law and Establishment of Modern Family Courts.
Reference was also made to the
activities of the Greek Cypriots for the Union of Cyprus with Greece (enosis).
The position of Greece and Turkey, the developments in the years 1954 to 1959
(p.181-194) and a summary of the Agreements of Guarantee and Alliance (p.195)
are dealt with. The list of the British High Commissioners and Governors ends
the chapters on the British Rule (p.196)
The approach of the writer
of the book can be defined as nationalist, but not as chauvinist in general. On
the back-cover of the book, it was stressed that there was no objective history
of Cyprus and this book would fill the gap, breaking the monopoly of the foreign
history writers. The book was published by the Cyprus Turkish History
Association.
In 1967, a Turkish Cypriot
teacher of geography, Ali Beyoğlu, published his “Geography of Cyprus” in
Nicosia. This 82 paged book was written as “a contribution to the Turkish
Cypriot culture” as the writer put it in the preface and it was not used as a textbook
in the schools. In the references of both books, we see two mimeographs,
prepared by special commissions, but they are not used as textbooks as well:
“Notes of the History of Cyprus – Three Parts, Nicosia 1962” and “Geography of
Cyprus” – Three Parts, Nicosia 1962”. Turkish Cypriot Education Department
prepared a third book on Civics, but all of the three books were not published
officially for the reasons we could not learn.
A new “History of Cyprus”
was published in November 1970 by the new President of the Cyprus Turkish
History Association, Vehbi Zeki. This 180 paged book was approved by the Cyprus
Turkish Directorate for Education on 1st February 1971 as the
“textbook” for the lessons of History of Cyprus at the secondary schools’
first, second and third classes. More than 10 reprints of this textbook were made
and it is still in use.
Two chapters of this book
deal with the British Rule in Cyprus. The 8th chapter has the title
“English Sovereignty in Cyprus”. General outlines of the lesson are summarized
in 13 parts with related explanatory questions.
Mr.Vehbi Zeki writes on
p.102: “The hand-over of the Turkish Administration to the British was received
with some resistance even if it was small in scale. A patriotic Turkish officer
in Famagusta resisted with gun-fire at the head of his division against the
British occupation. The local Council in Limassol did not recognize the British
occupation, but later under the use of force, it accepted the new situation.
As the Turkish flag was
lowered in Nicosia and the British flag was raised, a Greek Cypriot insulted a
Turkish officer during this ceremony. The Turkish officer took his sword out
and attacked the man, but the pallikaria was able to escape through the crowd.
The Greek Cypriots, as they
had done in the course of history, accepted their new masters. They were happy
to see the Turks leaving, who had saved them then from slavery and gave them
all kinds of opportunities.”
On p.103, there is an
extract from Rauf Denktash’s book “Cyprus: Five Minutes before Twelve” about
the ceremony of downing the Ottoman flag, ending with this sentence: “Without
exaggeration, one can say that with this flag ceremony, the political rope-game
between the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots had begun.” (p.105)
The evaluation of the
measures taken after 1931 was done by the writer in the following manner:
“After the rebellion on 21st October 1931, these measures were taken:
1. The Greek Consul, Kyrou, was called back to Greece.
2. The Legislative Council was abolished.
3. The Kitium Bishop, Nikodemos and his friends were
exiled from Cyprus.
4. Many liberties were restricted. For example, the
restriction of the freedom of press, appointment of the village-heads, instead
of their election by the people, banning of raising the flags without getting
permission from the authorities etc.
5. The damage, caused by the rebellion, 34.345 Cyprus
pounds, was to be collected from the villages and towns, participated at this
rebellion.
6. The political parties were banned.
7. The press was put under censorship.
8. The teaching of Turkish and Greek history in the schools
was prohibited.
We have to stress here with
sorrow that the above measures were applied also to the
Turkish Cypriot community,
although they were not at fault and did not take any part
in the rebellion.” (p.108-109)
The reason of the rebellion
in 1931 is described here as follow: “Indeed, the Greeks were planning a
rebellion for the “union”. The problem of the budget’s refusal was only a
pretext.” Vergi Bedevi uses “Kavanin Meclisi” as the right translation of the
“Legislative Assembly”, whereas Vehbi Zeki uses “Teşrii Meclis”, which was not
the word used in practice, probably taken from the books, written by mainland
Turks.
There is reference to the
KATAK, but it adds this: “There was soon a disagreement among the party
members. Dr. F. Kucuk and his friends left the party and formed another under
the name “Cyprus National Turkish People’s Party, which later in 1948 reunited
under the name “Cyprus National Unity Party.” (p.109) The other political
developments in the Cyprus problem are described up to the Macmillan Plan. On
p.114 there is a map of the villages, where the Turkish Cypriots were attacked
by the EOKA terror organization in 1955-58. In the text it reads: “The EOKA
murderers destroyed many Turkish villages with their brutal attacks.” (p.113)
It continues: “For the cause of separating the joint municipalities, pro-partition
meetings were organized by the attacks. But those meetings, which had no
back-thoughts were attacked brutally by the British soldiers and 7 innocent
race-brothers of ours were killed as the result of this. Later meetings were
staged in the Motherland for Cyprus. As the island was painted with blood, the
British Prime Minister Macmillan announced new proposals for the administration
of Cyprus on 19th June 1958.” (p.112)
These important events in
May-June 1958 are described in Bedevi’s book with another aspect: “This incidence raised the tension in Cyprus
and excited the Turks of the island… As the idea of partition grew stronger
once more, the mainland Turkish youth opened “a campaign for volunteers” to
fight in a possible civil war in Cyprus. 25.000 Turkish youths applied to come
to Cyprus and fight shoulder-to-shoulder with the Turkish Cypriots… The first meeting
of 300,000 people took place in Istanbul on 8th June. It was
followed by others in seven leading cities.” (p.189) There is also a list of
the fallen Turkish Cypriots in June-August 1958 on pages 190-191.
Vehbi Zeki writes about the
“Search for a solution to the Cyprus problem” in the 9th Chapter
(p.117-124) There is a summary of the Zürich and London Agreements on
p.118-121.
On p.121, we read the
arrival of the Turkish soldiers in Cyprus in this sentence: “After 82 years of
its departure, the representative of the brave Turkish Army, the Turkish
Contingent in Cyprus landed once again on Turkish Cyprus on 16th
August 1960.” We see another extract from Rauf Denktash, “speaking to the brave
Turkish soldiers in the name of the Turkish Cypriots.” Vehbi Zeki illustrates
the section with four pictures of the Turkish contingent and he writes: “After
82 years of separation, the Turkish soldiers stepped on Turkish Cyprus once
again with the decisiveness of never leaving the island again.” (p.124)
In this book, there is also
a small section, two and half pages, about “The education in Cyprus during the
British period” (p.114-116), which says: “During the British period, the
Turkish Cypriot schools in general were under great pressure. Even the pictures
of Ataturk and other Turkish dignitaries were removed with putting those of the
British king and dignitaries. We used to have the British flag on the masts and
sing the march “God save the King”. Despite all the pressure of the British
government, the hard-working Turkish teachers educated the youth loyal to the
reforms of Ataturk.” (p.116)
In the Turkish Cypriot lyceums,
the textbook of “History of the Struggle of the Turkish Cypriots (1878-1981” by
Zeki Serter and Ozan Zeki Fikretoglu, first published in 1982 in Nicosia is
taught. This book was originally written in three volumes, dealing with the
periods 1878-1959, 1959-1963 and 1963-1975 respectively and its author, Dr. Vehbi
Zeki Serter was also the Educational Inspector of the Ministry for Education,
Culture and Youth. With the decision of the Directorate of Education on 25th
June 1973, it was approved as ancillary textbook for the lessons of “History of
(Turkish) Revolution”. It is interesting
that there is a note in the first print of the book: “This book is examined by
Rauf R. Denktash, Vice-President and the President of the Turkish
Administration.” The first print of the book was dedicated to the 50th
Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.
In 1982, a concise textbook
of 104 pages was printed. This time Serter worked with Fikretoglu, who was the
Director of Instruction and Training at the Ministry of Education. This
“History of Struggle of the Turkish Cypriots” was approved on 14th
January 1982 for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Classes
of the Lyceum as textbook.
The British rule is dealt in
three chapters: Chapter 2 (Cyprus during the English Administration), Chapter 3
(The 1956-59 Period) and Chapter 4 (The transitory period, February 1959-August
1960).
Some extracts from the
Chapter 2 are given below:
“The 1890’s are the years,
full of activities of the Greek Cypriot community, aimed at the union of the
island with Greece and we see the concentrated initiatives of the Turkish
Cypriot community in order to block these initiatives… As British Deputy
Minister of Colonies, Sir Winston Churchill, who was on a visit to the island
in 1907 left Cyprus, he addressed to the Greek Cypriots in Limassol: “Since
there are Turkish and Greek communities here, it is not possible to have
enosis. If you want your country to have a high standard of living, you have to
find a way to cooperate with the other community in a friendly manner.” This
period is full of injustice, done to the Turkish Cypriots by the colonial administration
in the public offices and municipalities. Therefore, one can find many
complaints, published in the local Turkish Cypriot newspapers. For example,
although the town Polis has an equal population of the Greek and Turkish
Cypriots, the nearby Greek Cypriot villages were put within the boundaries of
Polis, but the nearer Turkish Cypriot villages were excluded. Another example
was favouring Varosha and not Famagusta, the old city. The revenue gathered
from the Port of Famagusta was used for the works of illumination and cleaning
in Varosha, whereas the Turkish Cypriot part of the town, Famagusta, could not
benefit from such works. Another complaint was that the Greek Cypriots were
favoured by the appointments to the vacant posts in the Police, instead of
Turkish Cypriots, who were at their right turn. The Greek Cypriots could not
have teachers from Greece, whereas this right was not given to the Turkish
Cypriots… The period 1878-1931 gave the control of the Evkaf to the government
despite the reaction of the Turkish Cypriots, there were British headmasters at
the Turkish Lyceums, one for the boys and one for the girls, the posts at the
public services were given preferably to the Greek Cypriots, the municipalities
under the Greek rule took care of the Greek quarters, whereas Turkish quarters
were neglected.” (p.12)
There are new events
mentioned in this book. For example, convening of the Cyprus Turkish National
Congress on 1st May 1931 and it gives the list of demands of the
Turkish Cypriots from the British administration. (p.13) The measures, taken by
the British after the rebellion of 1931, are listed on p.13 and the writer
comments: “Thus, the Colonial Administration was punishing the Turkish
community, which was loyal to the laws, as well as the Greeks, who were
responsible from the rebellion. Especially the pressure on educational
institutions and prohibitions were felt, but the sacrificing Turkish teacher
resisted and the values of Turkishness were transferred to the pupils in secret
manner.” (p.13)
The Turkish Cypriot reaction
to the 1950 Plebiscite, the position of the Turkish Government, the formation
of the Turkish Cypriot Federation of Associations, which later, at the end of
1957, got its news President, Rauf R. Denktash, who was the chief solicitor of
the British Colonial Government are the other developments referred to.
(p.15-16) The events from 1951 to 1955 are dealt later (p.16-22) with special
sub-section on London Conference.
The 3rd Chapter
deals with the developments in 1956, 57 and 58, ending with the Zürich and
London Agreements. (p.23-36)
The 4th Chapter
is short, only three pages. It reports about the elections for the posts in the
new Republic, the landing of the Turkish and Greek Contingents and the
reflections of the new Republic’s Declaration in the Greek Cypriot press, which
saw it as a new start for the final goal, the union of the island with Greece.
(p.43-44)
There have been a lot of
criticism of the books, written by Vehbi Zeki Serter, which made many reprints
since 1970, but there is no change in the policy of education. One of the last
critics about the methods of selling the book at the schools and about the
contents of the book appeared in Vatan newspaper on 5th November
1992: “From our point of view, among the unnecessary lessons given in our
schools, the lesson of Turkish Cypriot History is the most important. What a
pity that our glorious history is lost in the book of Vehbi Zeki and almost no
mention is made to our recent history. The Ministry of Education has not
allocated the necessary money for a comprehensive book, but it brings the
years-old book of Vehbi Zeki every year into the young brains. (Metin Semerci)”
There was lately
a seminar for the teachers of History and Social Knowledge, titled “new
Approaches in the teaching of Cyprus History”, but this was again sick of
chauvinism . (38)
The last
minister of Education and Culture, Mehmet Ali Talat, who was appointed in
January 1994, tried to make some changes in the curriculum, but he was attacked
by the chauvinist press. The parents are also critical of the textbooks,
dealing with Cyprus history. One of them complained: “The Greek Cypriots teach
chauvinism at their schools, but we should not do the same with giving this as
a pretext. The chauvinist contents of the textbooks of Cypriot History should
be changed.” The police raided the place, where the meeting took place with the
Minister and an interrogation was started immediately, asking, who was talking
destructively and who the Minister was. (39)
The other
textbooks taught at the schools of the Turkish Cypriots are all imported from
Turkey. In some years the textbooks arrive late or some of them fail. (40) The
textbook of National Geography I has two and a half pages about Cyprus, stating
that the part, where the Turks are living is the TRNC in the northern part of
the island: “The inhabitants of this part call our country as “Motherland” or
“our race-brothers in the Northern part live within the boundaries of the TRNC
under the guarantee of their motherland” are the examples of the approach to
the island, giving the perspectives: “The Turkish Cypriot side believes in a
bi-communal, bi-regional and politically equal federal framework, where both
peoples could come together and this is only possible with the active and
influential guarantee of Turkey.” (41)
It is
interesting that when there was a meeting in Ankara about a joint textbook of
History and Literature for all the Turkic republics, the TRNC was not invited
on the ground that there was no need to invite the TRNC, since Cyprus is seen
as a part of Turkey. The Ministry of National Education of Turkey said: “Cyprus
already uses the same curriculum as in Turkey and we did not need to invite a
special representative from Cyprus.” (42)
That concludes
our evaluation of the Turkish Cypriot textbooks and the British rule in Turkish
Cypriot textbooks.
NOTES:
1.
Zia,
Dr.Nasim, Kıbrıs’ın İngiltere’ye geçişi ve Adada kurulan İngiliz İdaresi,
Ankara 1975, p.79-80
2.
Excerpta
Cypria, Nicosia 1969, p.490
3.
Keshishian,
Kevork K., Romantisches Zypern, Nicosia, p.35
4.
An,
Ahmet, Turkish Cypriot Bibliography 1878-1963, in Deldio Bibliografikis Eterias
Kipru, Tomos G (1990), Lefkosia 1991, p.181
5.
Beckingham, C. F., The Turks of Cyprus, in the
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,
Vol.87, Part 2, 1957, p.164-174
6.
Suha,
Ali, Turkish Education in Cyprus, in the First International Congress of
Cypriot Studies, 14-19 April 1969-Papers of the Turkish Delegation, Ankara
1971, p.240
7.
Ibid,
p.236-237
8.
Ibid,
p.239-240
9.
Ibid,
p.241
10. Orr, Captain C.W.J., Cyprus under British Rule, London
1972, p.122-123
11. Behçet, Hasan, Kıbrıs Türk Maarif Tarihi (1571-1968),
Lefkoşa 1969, p.75
12. Ibid, p.79
13. Fedai, Harid, İlklerden bir kitap: Ziver Bey’in Kıbrıs
Tarihi, Yeni Kıbrıs, Eylül 1989
14. Fedai, Harid, Ziver Bey’in Kimliği, Türk Bankası
Kültür-Sanat Dergisi, Sayı:11, November 1992
15. Fedai, Harid, Muhtasar Kıbrıs Coğrafyası, Söz, 20-23 November
1984
16. Behçet, Hasan, ibid, p.86
17. Ibid, p.88
18. Orr, Captain C.W.J., ibid, p.133
19. Persianis, Panayiotis K., Church and State in Cyprus
Education, Nicosia 1978, p.91
20. Behçet, Hasan, ibid, p.89, p.92
21. Fedai, Harid, Muhtasar Kıbrıs Coğrafyası ve Muhtasar
Kıbrıs Tarihi, Söz, 23-26 November 1984
22. Kıbrıs Erkek Lisesi Mecmuası 1933-1934 Yıllığı, p.29
23. Behçet, Hasan, ibid, p.133
24. Ibid, p.127, p.133
25. Ibid, p.97
26. Suha, Ali, ibid, p.242
27. Behçet, Hasan, ibid, p.728
28. Persianis, Panatiotis K., ibid, p.170
29. Behçet, Hasan, ibid, p.612
30. Ibid, p.719-720
31. Persianis, Panatiotis K., ibid, p.172
32. Behçet, Hasan, ibid, p.141
33. Persianis, Panatiotis K., ibid, p.111
34. Tekakpınar, Kemal and Demiray Doğasal, Dr. Fazıl Küçük
(1906-1984), Nicosia 1991, p.765
35. Behçet, Hasan, ibid, p.106
36. ibid, p.108-109
37. Suha, Ali, ibid, p.244
38. Halkın Sesi, 15 February 1990
39. Kıbrıs, 2 February 1994
40. Kıbrıs, 9 October 1993
41. Orta Okullar için Milli Coğrafya I, 4. Basılış, Ankara
1992
42. Cumhuriyet, 31 March 1993
(This paper was originally prepared and read for the first
time in English at the international conference on “Cyprus in
Textbooks-Textbooks in Cyprus”, organized by Georg-Eckert Institute for International
Textbook Research in Braunschweig-Germany between 28.4 and 1.5.1994. It was
published later in “Cyprus Review” Journal, Nicosia, Volume 6:1, Spring 1994, pp. 65–79)
