* A r t ic le published in the Athens newspaper "ETHNOS” , on June 16th, 1955»_______________________________
—---OLD FRIENDS
PATRIARCH ATHINAGORAS VISITED THE FABULOUS TOZAN The P h ilh e lle n e F ig h te r
Constantinope, June 16th. (S p e c ia l S e r v ic e )
The Movement o f Prin ce Sabahftddin was undoubtedly one o f the most p r o g r e s s iv e , p a r t ic u la r ly in view o f the s p i r i t o f c*'e ®“ potism o f the Supreme P orte p re v a le n t at th at tim e, ana the Royal e x tra c tio n o f that fabulous f i g h t e r . Sabaheddin was one o f the most d e c is iv e champions o f popular freedom s. He hxm aelf, but a lso his s t a f f o f choice c o lla b o ra to rs became w e ll acquainted w ith the
ru th less persecu tion o f the Su ltans, having been im prisoned, e x ile d and not seldom d e liv e r e d to the executor or downed in the Bosphorus.
Only a few su rvive today o f th at Old Guard o f c o lla b o ra to r s o f the f ig h t e r P rin c e. Among them, one o f the most prominent is S a tvet L u t fi Tozan. This member o f Sabahaddin’ s s t a f f was condemned to death three times fo r his s tru g g le against the Supreme P o rte,
Even a ft e r h is lea d er was n e u tra lis e d , he continued his s tr u g g le , remaining f a i t h f u l to Sab&heddin’ a p r in c ip le s and t r a d it io n s .
The Warm P h ilh e lle n e . For scores o f years the h eroic Tozan wa3 always -""both in the in t e r io r and abroad - on the sid e Oj. a l l who stru ggled fo r l i b e r t y . For th is reason the b rea st o f th is veteran f ig h t e r Is decorated w ith the high est A llie d Oraers. Ryen during th e ^ la s t war he o ffe r e d to the cause o f l i b e r t y - m s p i-e o f the n e u t r a lit y o f h is country - such s e r v ic e s , th at he was decorated w ith the B r it is h Order o f the B r itis h Empire, an Order which is seldom bestowed.
Beyond, however, his hard and cea seless stru gg le io r l i b e r t y , Tozan has always remained one o f the most prominent and sin cere P h ilh e lle n e s o f the New Turkey, a f a i t h f u l d is c ip le on th is poin t a lso o f the tr a d it io n s o f the Movement o f Sabaheddin, who did not only t o le r a t e - at a time when even t o le r a t io n c o n stitu te d a r a c ic a - lism unacceptable by the Old Turks - the Greek element which was dispersed at a l l p oin t o f the Ottoman Empire, but considered i t u n reservedly as indispensable to the progress and c i v i l i s a t i o n of his country.
The v i s i t o f the P a tria rc h . Y esterd a y, K . B . the P a tria rch Athinagorus v is it e d the vetera n P h ilh e lle n e and stayed conversing w ith him f o r over two hours.
Independently o f the su bject o f th e ir con versa tion , the meeting o f the P a tria rch w ith Tozan c o n s titu te s an In t e r v a l of^ calmness at a time when the unbridled nervousness o f p r a c t ic a lly
- 3
-the e n tir e Turkish press is hammering unwisely at -the foundations o f the Greek-Turkish c o lla b o ra tio n which supports the stru ctu re o f s e c u rity o f the f r e e cou n tries in the Balkans,
The P a tria rch had the op p ortu n ity o f p o in tin g out to the fabulous f i g h t e r th at the road o f the two nation s is common and that any d e v ia tio n from th is road o f c o -e x is te n ce would be a rea l catastrophe and Tozan assured the P a tria rc h th at - "beyond the tr a n s ito r y clouds o f nervousness, Greece and Turkey are c a lle d by H is to ry to remain the b ro th e rly guardians o f c i v i l i s a t i o n and l i b e r t y , and they w i l l so remain"
-B o s p c ritis
Kişisel Arşivlerde İstanbul Belleği Taha Toros Arşivi
