Inspectorates-General (Turkey)

Inspectorates-General[1] or General Inspectorates[2] (Turkish: Umumi Müfettişlikler) was a regional governorship whose authorities prevailed over civilian, military and judicial institutions under their domain[1] but had to comply with the orders of Turkish president Mustafa Kemal.[2] Their aim was to establish an authoritarian rule[1] and to consolidate the authority in the process of Turkification of religious and ethnic minorities.[3]

The Turkish Grand National Assembly got the law numbered 1164 and dated June 25, 1927, passed. On January 1, 1928, the First Inspectorate-General (Birinci Umumi Müfettişlik) including the provinces of Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Urfa, Bitlis, Van, Hakkâri, Siirt and Mardin was established with the center in Diyarbakır.[4]

Before Thrace pogroms, on February 19, 1934, the Second Inspectorate-General (İkinci Umumi Müfettişlik) including Kırklareli, Edirne, Tekirdağ and Çanakkale provinces, was established with the center in Edirne[5]

On August 25, 1935, the Third Inspectorate-General (Üçüncü Umumi Müfettişlik) including Ağrı, Kars, Artvin, Rize, Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Erzincan and Erzurum provinces, was established with the center in Erzurum.[6][7]

Before Dersim Rebellion, on June 6, 1936, the Fourth Inspectorate-General (Dördüncü Umumi Müffetişlik) was established in historical Dersim region that includes Tunceli, Elazığ and Bingöl provinces, with the center in Elazığ.[5]

In December 1936 a conference of the Inspector-Generals of all the four Inspectorates-Generals together with the Minister of the Interior Şükrü Kaya was held and an evaluation of the Turkification program was prepared. The Inspector-Generals compared their results for three days. The First Inspectorate-General Abidin Özmen demanded a closure of the border with Syria as he complained that from Syria the Kurds, Yazidis and Armenians received support.[8]

The Inspectorates General were disestablished in 1952 under the government of the Democrat Party.[9]

See also

Sources
  1. Soner Çaǧaptay, Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk?, Taylor & Francis, 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-38458-2, pp. 47-48.
  2. Hamit Bozarslan, "Emergency of Kurdish Nationalism and struggle in the late Ottoman Empire", The Cambridge history of Turkey: Turkey in the modern world, Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-521-62096-3, p. 342.
  3. Cemil Koçak, Umumi Müfettişlikler (1927-1952), İletişim Yayınları, 2003, ISBN 978-975-05-0129-6, p. 144. (in Turkish)
  4. Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, Güney Doğu, İstanbul, p. 66. (in Turkish)
  5. Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, ibid, p. 66, 194. (in Turkish)
  6. Cumhuriyet, August 26, 1935. (in Turkish)
  7. Erdal Aydoğan, "Üçüncü Umumi Müffetişliği'nin Kurulması ve III. Umumî Müffetiş Tahsin Uzer'in Bazı Önemli Faaliyetleri", Atatürk Yolu, Ankara Üniversitesi Türk İnkılâp Tarihi Enstitüsü, Vol. 33-34, pp. 1-14. (in Turkish)
  8. Üngör, Ugur Ümit (1 March 2012). The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1950. OUP Oxford. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-0-19-164076-6.
  9. Bozarslan, Hamit (2008-04-17). Fleet, Kate; Faroqhi, Suraiya; Kasaba, Reşat; Kunt, I. Metin (eds.). The Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge University Press. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-521-62096-3.

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