Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union the Media for Democracy/ Democracy for Media Programme (M4D) hosted former Member of Parliament and former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission for the Grand National Assembly Mehmet Dülger in the Press House. Dülger who made a presentation called “Demirel, Democracy and Press Perceptions” talked about his memories of the late Süleyman Demirel and his many qualities that are not widely known by the public.
M4D Programme Assistant Director Seva Ülmen made the opening speech with these remarks: “The Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Programme would like to welcome Mr. Mehmet Dülger, who served as a member of parliament and was chairman for the Foreign Affairs Commission…
The main goal of the M4D programme is to strengthen pluralism in the media and freedom of the press as a safeguard for democracy. In this context, I would like to take this chance to remind you we offer various supports for individuals and organizations involved in the press. I would strongly suggest you take a look at our website for more information about these supports. We are doing our best to hold talks and trainings in our Press House for the benefit of our young journalist friends and colleagues.
When preparing today’s event, we wanted to show you the unknown sides of Süleyman Demirel, who has had a very important place in the last 50 years of Turkish politics, he as served in many positions ranging from being Prime Minister to President, and we of course want to talk about his approach to the media. We thought “who would be better than Mehmet Dülger?” who was once described as “Demirel’s successor” to hold this talk, so we kindly invited him to our event. We would also like to thank executive board member of the Association of Journalists Nursun Erel for making this possible today.
Nursun Erel who took the floor after Ülman talked about when she first met Dülger in the first years of her journalism career: “I met Mr. Dülger during the first years of my career. We actually sat next to each other flying to Izmir with Turgut Özal. Throughout the years we’ve always had a very amicable relationship with Mr. Dülger. He has been one of the most important politicians and bureaucrats who has sympathized with journalists, this is something I’d like to remind all of you. I would also like to remind you that through his later father Bahadır and late mother Aliye, Dülger has shares in the Anatolian Agency… Before handing the floor to Mr. Dülger I would like to thank my dear colleague İlhan Kuyucu. He was kind enough to share his 55-year collection of Demirel…”
Dülger “Demirel would make the impossible happen if it made reconciliation possible”
Mr. Dülger referred to former President and politician Süleyman Demirel as “one of the biggest symbols of democracy”. Dülger commented that he worked with Süleyman Demirel closely for years, but of course there were points they didn’t see eye-to-eye. He added:
“Demirel, at least in my opinion, was naturally polite. Politeness is like a jacket; you wear it when you need to, then you take it off. He wasn’t like that; he was genuinely a very polite person. I had the first-hand opportunity to witness this many times. He was of course very smart, witty and hardworking. He had an amazing memory; he would amaze you with how much information he could retain. He was also very quick to grasp things and he was very respectful. Demirel was very patient and tolerant. His patience was legendary, he would invite the people around him to be calm as well. He was a very determined man, if he believed in something he would follow through it until the end. He was quite stubborn and faithful, too. Demirel was a very patient man, you could say almost anything in his presence that most people would find hard to swallow, provided that you showed decorum. I would like to especially underline that Demirel was an accommodationist. I will never forget him saying “I would make the impossible happen if it made reconciliation possible”. I believe this is one of the most important aspects of a democracy. Demirel was not only committed to democracy institutionally but he was committed to it intellectually as well.
Demirel used to say “My greatest fear is that the country will one day be run by a demagogue”
Dülger mentioned that one of the strongest attributes of Demirel was how articulate he was; Dülger quoted Demirel “My greatest fear is that the country will one day be run by a demagogue”. Dülger added “I recall this quote a lot these days. Demirel was a good leader, very calculated in his actions. He was a master of simplifying complex issues, for example the issue of determining minimum prices… When questioned about how to determine tobacco prices in the Aegean region he responded “A kilo of tobacco should amount to a kilo of halva”, I had never heard of measuring units this way. He was excellent in his correspondence to demand. This is one of the reasons why tobacco planters loved Demirel.”
“Demirel would never refrain from using slang and making blue jokes. One day, Ecevit’s advisor Mr. Turan said “Whenever Ecevit gets angry, he slams whatever he’s holding on the desk. That’s how we know if he is really angry. What does Demirel do?” I responded “He opens the curtains and starts cursing like a sailor.”
According to Dülger, Demirel was a strong believer in democracy and that there were two instances regarding this: “The first instance was when he resigned on 12 March. Many people resented him for it but Demirel wanted to preserve parliament which is of course a big democratic institution. The second instance was 28 February… During a National Security Council meeting the Chief of Staff approaches the President and they talk for a few minutes. The Chief of Staff says “We decided on these subjects in the meeting. If there is something you don’t agree with, please let us know. We will be meeting on Thursday anyway, we’ll tell you all about it then.” On February 28 the Chief of Staff and the National Force Commander enter the National Security Council meeting together and say “Erbakan is going to resign” Demirel, who was President at the time, is of course quite surprised and responds “This is impossible” to which they retort “It is going to be possible” and Demirel answers “I can’t do this” which in turn the Chief of Staff says “If you can’t do it, you’ll find yourself in Güniz Street.” I’ve talked to my friends in MSP, this is what I would have expected; Erbakan would turn to the National Force Commander and say “How come you know all of this and we don’t? I’m your Prime Minster, too” then call for a break in the meeting which would be followed by the President declaring the decree for the early retirement of these military men. If he hadn’t agreed to this, I would have expected him to resign. This would have been a great service to democracy, but it didn’t happen…”
“Listen to Erbakan for the first 20 minutes he is very right, but after the 21st minute he becomes intolerable.”
Dülger commented on how Demirel was a chain smoker “He would fold pieces of paper during long meetings. I recall a long cabinet meeting when Erbakan took the floor. Demirel was listening with the same attitude, he was filling up the ashtray in front of him with folded pieces of paper. He used to say “Listen to Erbakan for the first 20 minutes he is very right, but after the 21st minute he becomes intolerable.” I was following Demirel throughout the meeting, I looked up to him and saw he had put a folded piece of paper in his mouth like it were a toothpick, he proceeded to do it again. He then gave Erbakan his answer; he was an interesting man with a lot of patience.”
One of the most important qualities of Demirel was his respect for institutions remarked Dülger, he added “Another thing I believe is integral to the press is that Demirel believed in providing evidence; he wouldn’t care of rumours. He would carry cut-out newspaper articles with him in party meetings or in parliament and use them as evidence. Newspapers were very different back then, of course.”
His commitment to Mrs. Nazmiye…
Dülger shared a memory of how committed Demirel was to his wife Mrs. Nazmiye: “The wife of a good friend was Demirel’s dentist. One day Mrs. Nazmiye slipped and broke her front teeth. They operated on her for four and a half hours. Demirel sat next to her and held her hand throughout the operation. Not many people know how committed Demirel was to his wife Mrs. Nazmiye…
Demirel always carried a notebook and took notes of his ideas commented Dülger “He would write a word or two in his notebook and then put it back. One day, he went back to the parliament building because he had forgotten a piece of newspaper he took a note on. We went through the whole archive for four and a half hours and finally found the piece of paper which had a single word scribbled on it. He gave great importance to detail. He had a creative mind and would always overcome great obstacles. He was a simple man, he led a humble life, and was deeply tied to his traditions.”
Dülger talked about how Demirel read a lot and because he had a good memory, he would use quotations in his speeches. Dülger also remarked that Demirel was very interested in recent political history and was adamant about archiving everything or making sure the necessary documents reached whoever it concerned. Demirel was very disciplined said Dülger, he would know by heart the content of documents; he was also very organized and wouldn’t allow unexpected events to unfold during trips.
He would never do anything without consulting someone
Dülger said this about how Demirel worked:
“Although he seemed quite authoritarian Demirel was very interested in discussing matters. After each speech either on TV or in the party he would ask “If you would like to add anything, please do so.” And he did this after every election. He would never do anything without consulting someone.
Travelling around the country was important to Demirel. I have never seen anything like it, where the public could interact with its leader with such warmth. I personally preferred the campaign preparation periods; we would pick themes and he would guide us. Demirel was open to criticism but he was a straight shooter. I’ll never forget the time we were in Kars, Demirel was prime minister and we had a group of media bosses following us. There was only one good hotel in the city centre, when we arrived there, we were informed the media bosses were given the room that was reserved for Demirel. He spent the night in a tiny room that could barely hold his suitcase; he never said a word about it.”
Coups and the GAP Project
Dülger also talked about Demirel and military coups: “Demirel was opposed to coups, he knew what they did to Turkey. He entered politics after the 27th of May, he wanted democracy to prevail. He was a leader that suffered many injustices after military coups.”
Demirel was deeply committed to the GAP project said Dülger: “GAP was first thought of in 1967, there hasn’t been a bigger project since. It is quite unfortunate that not even 40% of the project has been completed. I believe that foreign powers have played a role in this. When he visited the Southeast during the troubles he was greeted like a prime minister, he said “I’m here to talk about GAP, ask me anything” and he answered the public’s questions for hours. One of our biggest problems is communication, we needed to be able to tell this to the public systematically.”
“I don’t look back”
Dülger remarked that Demirel saying “I don’t look back” as he left the Presidential Palace caused a lot of controversy: “It was interpreted as him breaking away from the party, or as disinterest, and in my opinion caused the end of the True Path Party. Tansu Çiller is still a big mystery to us… I think Demirel’s words could be understood as “pull yourselves together” but his words were interpreted as though it came from a father who was offended and leaving.”
Dülger underlined that Turkey must struggle to institutionalize democracy, and that welfare is important for a democracy. He emphasized the words “Freedom, security and bread” and added “one doesn’t enable the other, they all have to exist at the same time. I wish Turkey will be able to attain this.”
He continued “Employment, debt and power are our most fundamental problems and they come with a lot of baggage. Through Demirel I learned how to explain these issues to the public in simple terms, about justice, forgiveness and tolerance; and through my father I learned that the main ingredient of politics is man.”
Who is Mehmet Dülger?
Mehmet Dülger was born in Istanbul where he attended Galatasaray High School and later graduated from the mathematics and physics department in Istanbul University. He continued his education in the University of Geneva Faculty of Architecture. Dülger then specialized in city planning in Institute of Urban Planning Paris. Dülger was a member of faculty in the University of Geneva for a while, on his return to Turkey he worked as a specialist in the State Planning Organization. Dülger later worked as head consultant of the Prime Minister as well as general manager of the Tercüman Newspaper. Dülger who has been a member of parliament also worked as chairman of the Grand National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Commission. Dülger, who is married, has one daughter.
