Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan: “Deep Messages Were Given to the World's Dominant Powers with the Presidential Ceremony”

Evaluating the ceremony held for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's election and assumption of office as the 13th President of the Republic of Türkiye within the context of political psychology, political scientist Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan emphasized that the ceremony was not a simple or ordinary inauguration. Kök Arslan stated that very deep messages were given with this ceremony, especially to the world's dominant powers, and drew attention to details such as the President's visit to Anıtkabir, the presence of non-Muslim minority religious leaders in the protocol, the presence of the Armenian Prime Minister, and the absence of high-level representation from Greece. 

Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations (English) at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Director of the Political Psychology Application and Research Center, shared her observations on the 13th Presidential inauguration ceremony.

“With this ceremony, very deep messages were given to the world's dominant powers”

Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan began her words by stating, “The ceremony held on June 3, 2023, at the Beştepe Presidential Complex for the election and assumption of office of Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the 13th President of the Republic of Türkiye after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was not a simple or ordinary inauguration ceremony.” She added that with this ceremony, a Republic celebrating its 100th year conveyed very deep messages to the world, and especially to its dominant powers.

The first message: Anıtkabir…

Kök Arslan regarded the new President's visit to the spiritual presence of the first President and founder of the Republic, Aziz Atatürk, at Anıtkabir, followed by his procession to Beştepe with cavalry units, as the first message. She stated, “Far from being a break from the Republican tradition, as some claimed, this ceremony underlined the continuation of Mustafa Kemal's struggle for existence and defiance, beginning with respect for his spiritual personality, as in every important state ceremony. In the ceremony, which commenced in the presence of heads of state and government from almost every continent, some details were significant. The presence of the Turkish Armed Forces Historical Unit emphasized that the Turks, a people with a history stretching back 6000 years, are here.”

Declaration of being the continuation and heir not only of the Ottomans but also of Byzantium…

Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan pointed out that the entry to the ceremony area with Janissary Band (Mehteran) music was a declaration that the Ottomans, who had reached the gates of Vienna, were not dead and were still present. She said, “Another detail was the prominent placement of non-Muslim minority religious leaders alongside the Head of Religious Affairs in the protocol. The fact that the Greek Orthodox Patriarch appeared in the same frame as the President throughout his entire speech, due to his seating position, conveyed another message. With this message, the century-old Republic was declaring itself to be the continuation and heir not only of the 600-year-old Ottoman Empire but also of the 1400-year-old Byzantine Empire.”

It was the message: “We are the continuation of Eastern Rome and the Ottomans, and we stand tall here”…

Kök Arslan reminded that the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchs, who are the religious leaders of all Orthodox Christians in the world, were appointed by Roman Emperors from 330 AD until 1453 AD after being elected by the Holy Synod. She stated, “The Greek Patriarchs were appointed by Ottoman Sultans by imperial edict from 1453 until 1923. After 1923, the decisions of the Holy Synod began to be approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Türkiye. Our President, Mr. Erdoğan, uses the authority of Ottoman Sultans and Byzantine Emperors in the appointment of the Greek Patriarch, who was present next to him at the ceremony. No head of state in the world possesses such an imperial authority spanning 1693 years. Therefore, the importance and respect given to the Greek Patriarch was not a simple display of tolerance. It was a message to the entire world: ‘We are the continuation of Eastern Rome and the Ottomans, and we stand tall here’.”

Kök Arslan added that the Greek and Armenian Patriarchs and the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community were in the state protocol after a hundred years, just as they were during the Ottoman Empire. She remarked, “It was normal for the non-Muslims' betrayal of the state as puppets of the imperialists during World War I to create a reaction against them in the newly established Republic. However, the Generous State was embracing its non-Muslim children in Ankara a hundred years later.”

Have Armenians returned to their ancestral home?

Kök Arslan stated that the presence not only of the religious leader of the Armenian Patriarchate, established by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, but also of the Prime Minister of Armenia at the ceremony conveyed another message. She assessed, “The invitation of the Prime Minister of Armenia, who had recently suffered a heavy defeat by Azerbaijani Turks with Türkiye's strong support, and his acceptance of this invitation, can also be interpreted as Armenians sitting at the family table they have been at odds with for a hundred years and returning to their ancestral home.”

What remains unchanged is the continuation of a great state tradition…

Kök Arslan characterized Greece's lack of high-level representation at the ceremony, as the first child who rebelled and left the family, as a deficiency not originating from Türkiye. She stated, “In such a ceremony, the equal participation of Greek and Armenian states alongside Turkic states would have been very meaningful for the re-establishment of family unity. Whether we call this family Ottoman, Eastern Rome, or Türkiye, what remains unchanged is the continuation of a great state tradition.”

Kurds honored with reference to Kurdish poet Ahmedi Hani…

Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan, stating that Kurds were not forgotten at the ceremony, said, “The Kurds, the true children of the Republic who fought shoulder to shoulder with Turks against imperialist occupation a hundred years ago in Antep, Maraş, Urfa, Sakarya, and Dumlupınar, were honored by the President of Türkiye's references to the great Kurdish poet Ahmedi Hani in his speech. Perhaps in future ceremonies, the Presidents of Türkiye will also refer to the Epic of the Iliad and Hector, the heroic son of Anatolia, in order to embrace the Roman and Hellenistic civilizations of which we are a continuation.”

The prayer of the Head of Religious Affairs was the continuation of Atatürk’s hundred-year state legacy…

Kök Arslan highlighted that Mustafa Kemal's legacy was revived with two symbols during the ceremony. She stated, “The first was the initiation of a new era with the Turkish prayer delivered by the Head of Religious Affairs. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk did not disrupt the Sunni, Hanafi character of the state he inherited from the Ottomans and established the Directorate of Religious Affairs, placing this faith under state protection and umbrella. The Sunni-Islamic character of the state was not deemed contrary to secularism by Atatürk; for instance, during his time, regimental muftis in the army were preserved. The prayer of the Head of Religious Affairs was the continuation of Atatürk's hundred-year state legacy and was not contrary to secularism.”

Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Köçekçeler suite was a meaningful reference to Mustafa Kemal’s legacy…

Kök Arslan stated that the second reference to Mustafa Kemal's legacy at the ceremony was Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Köçekçeler suite, performed by the Presidential Symphony Orchestra, one of the Turkish Five. She explained, “Erkin, who was educated abroad by Atatürk to make Turkish music polyphonic, produced this work in the years following Atatürk's death. The importance of the work lies in its musical consecration of the War of Independence, the National Struggle, and the Great Victory. In this piece, the most beautiful melodies of Anatolia and Rumelia are skillfully synthesized into a single polyphonic orchestral work. The work is virtually the story of Anatolia and, with all its colors, reflects the raising of the flag of victory and the continuation of the ancient tradition of the Turkish people. These melodies contain musical motifs of Anatolian peoples spanning at least 3000 years, and the selection of this work to proclaim who we are at this ceremony was a very appropriate choice.”

The spirit of Mustafa Kemal and his comrades was in Beştepe that day…

Kök Arslan, stating that the spirit of Mustafa Kemal and his comrades, who set out not to surrender these lands to imperialists and their collaborators, was in Beştepe that day, concluded her words by recalling the verses of Nazım Hikmet, the great poet of the Turkish language whose citizenship was reinstated by our President, Mr. Erdoğan, which she interpreted as ‘a message declared to the world’:

‘This country, stretching from distant Asia like a mare’s head to the Mediterranean, is ours.

Wrists in blood, teeth clenched, bare feet, and the soil like a silken carpet,

This hell, this heaven, is ours.

Let foreign doors close, never open again, abolish man's servitude to man, this invitation is ours…’