Letter to Senator, the Hon Alan Ferguson

Subject: Your Speech on 18 March 2009
Turkish - Australian Relations

Dear Senator, the Hon Alan Ferguson,

As the Australia-Gallipoli Friendship Society, we read your inspiring speech in the Senate on the 18 March 2009, in regards to the Hon. Michael Atkinson’s an unfortunate blaming talk on Turkey which was made in the Labor government in South Australia recently.

Mr. Ferguson, we deeply share your concern that in such actions that should not ever happened in between Australian-Turkish relations since our common and unique historical values that is a model for many nations.

As a friendship society we aim and encourage a common bond of affection between every society, rather than animosity in the beautiful multicultural Australia which we believed that animosity breeds animosity; it is a vicious circle.

Considently, I am in Turkey now (founder of the society), introducing our societies' book (*) called : ‘Johnny Turks-Memoirs on Gallipoli’, in which was compiled from honest Australians who fought in Gallipoli. As many, I was fascinated by these memoirs and as the society thought them to be read by many others too. Therefore, the Turkish version of these stories are now available as a book, now in Turkey.

Since 18th of March 2007, I am telling and explaining all these stories to everyone in Australia and in Turkey now, trying to spread to everyone, how our soldiers were ( Turkish and Australian) courageous, respectful, honest and most importantly they were fair to each other, ( at least time to time ) even when they were as enemies…

In the followings, you may find them mostly Turkish side of wordings but at least these memoirs show and reflect the Australian honesty…

Hoping that such as these will give us a change to reshape our relations in every way of our life in Australian society.

Here are the some wordings from our book:

"Turks have treated our captured men and officers excellently"
The diary of the Aus. Official Corres. C.E.W.Bean

“You will hear extraordinary horrible stories practiced by Turks. Well, don’t believe a word of them. They are grossly exaggerated if not wholly false.
You will be surprised at the gentlemanly way the Turks has fought us.
Jim Haynes (Cobbers - Stories of Gallipoli 1915 p. 178)

" I reckon the Turk respects us, as we respect the Turk, Abdul's a good, clean fighter - we've fought him, and we know"
Lieutenant Oliver Hogue

"The Turks have always proved themselves perfectly willing to have armistices and have actually asked for one at Helles which was refused by our General Staff. "
Ashmead-Bartlett's Diary,1915

" They (Turks) too were fighting for their country. Good and fair fighters. No. They fought very fair and honestly like us. Both sides lost their very valuable men.”
[E.W.BARTLETT - was born in Australia , 1891. 11. Light Horse Regiment. One Hundred years old. He was one of last two hundred who left the Dardanelle.]

"The Turkish sniper understood that we were searching for him. He shot once and the doctor got wounded. When he realized that he was a doctor, he didn’t shoot again.”
Exerted from Sydney Alexander Moseley, former war correspondent during the Gallipoli Campaign ”

“ After the terrible punishment inflicted upon the brave but futile assaults all bitterness faded … The Turks displayed an admirable manliness.
… From that morning onwards the attitude of the Anzac troops towards the individual Turks was rather that of opponents in a friendly game.‘
[ Charles. E Bean, the Australian official historian, The Story of Anzac, Vol II, Sydney, 1924, p.162 ]

"The Anzacs left Gallipoli without hatred in their heart for their enemy or bitterness at the incompetence of their own high command.”
A.K. Macdouggall, Australian historian

“ If the seeds of this joint respect were planted at Gallipoli; it ripened in the dust and snow of Korea. The Turks' relish for hand-to-hand fighting,
their first-class leadership, their discipline under fire… these were attributes the Australians in Korea possessed themselves and admired in others.”
Australian journalist Harry Gordon

Thank you again
Yours sincerely,
Julia Gul Arslan
On behalf of the Australia-Gallipoli Friendship Society Inc. ( est. in 2002)