[vinnomot] A lesson to be learnt by politicians and generals.

Erdal İnönü: No regrets

Monday, November 5, 2007

 

 

I did what I had to until the last and I have no regrets, says respected politician, scientist Erdal İnönü in his final interview with Milliyet's Can Dündar

 

ISTANBUL – Milliyet

  Devoted to his responsibilities until the last, Erdal İnönü, who died this week, said his motto was, "A person does what he has to and he does so until the end," noting that his father İsmet İnönü, the hero of Turkey's Independence War and the second president, had made his son repeat the phrase, "I will do my duties until the last."

  In a series of interviews earlier this year with Milliyet daily's Can Dündar for a book on his life, İnönü said: "I did my duties at school. I did the same at university. Then, they asked me to become a politician. I did what I had to do. I have no regrets."

  İnönü, known for his modesty in politics and science, was a scientist until the last and was well respected for his contribution to physics.

  "I lived with science and I enjoyed it. To tell you the truth, I did nothing great but I made small contributions here and there. When it is like that, people cannot categorize you but you leave your mark in many places. However, none of these marks are major," he told Dündar.

Privileged childhood:

  İnönü said he always felt set apart from others because he was the son of "İsmet Paşa." He said sometimes when people spoke out of earshot around him, he thought they were talking about him.

  "Teachers used to give me preferential treatment. When I giggled with a friend in the class, the teacher would get angry with my friend but not me. I used to be very careful not to do anything that would make teachers angry," İnönü said.

  One day his history teacher asked him to prepare an essay about the İnönü Wars, two wars during the independence struggle, which his father commanded and which were the family's namesake.

I went home and prepared a long essay. I presented it at the class and thought the teacher would be very happy. He just said, 'It was good but I thought you would make your father tell you what really happened."

'Father didn't like to lose'

  In 1950, the Republican People's Party (CHP), which had governed the country since its foundation in 1923, lost the national elections to the Democrat Party (DP), the first democratic transfer of power in the country.

  İnönü sent his father a letter, then the CHP leader, asking him not to get upset. "In the future, they will forget who won the elections, but they'll never forget the party and the person who facilitated the first democratic elections. This will be remembered as your biggest achievement." His father told him that he was proud of his philosophical approach to the election results.

  He said his father never liked to lose, a trait Erdal İnönü did not share.

Sept. 12 and politics:

  On the issue of Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, Erdal İnönü said it had been an anti-democratic action and noted that he was very upset about the dismissals of valuable academics from universities at the time.

  "I wanted to say this was wrong but that would mean opposing the government and if I did that I could not stay at the university. One day someone called İbrahim Cevahir came to me and asked me to become a politician. I objected and told him I did not know anything about politics. First, I did not take it seriously. I asked my wife, who was totally against it. However, later I decided to enter politics and held a press conference to announce my decision. My wife didn't know. I called her to tell her. I told her, 'I am sorry but I am entering politics.' She shouted, 'Erdal don't!' and hung up the phone. I was upset. I went out to withdraw some money from the bank and saw this army of journalists. We went to the bank altogether. I realized this would be the norm from now on."

  About his illness, İnönü noted that all the drugs had taken a toll on his body. "I go to a conference every month. I continue writing books. I want people to know the studies made on sciences in the republican era. I have the list of the studies but I also need to make some observations. If I don't die too soon, I want to complete them."

 

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