Second Group (Turkey)
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Second Group ( tr, İkinci Grup) was a short-term opposition in
Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...
in the 1922-23 term.


Background

During the
Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
,
Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mou ...
(Atatürk) had the support of Turkish nationalists, though they were not a politically coherent group. Among them there were soldiers, civilian intellectuals, local land owners, and religious leaders. Towards the end of the war, the difference in political views became apparent. In particular, the future of post-war Turkey was a big question.Hakkı Uyar's paper
/ref> One important issue was the political status of Atatürk, who was just promoted to the commander in chief of the military forces just before the
Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya ( tr, Sakarya Meydan Muharebesi, lit=Sakarya Field Battle), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios ( el, Μάχη του Σαγγαρίου, Máchi tou Sangaríou), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish W ...
on 5 August 1921. Atatürk was authorised to exercise the power of the parliament.


The group

The group was founded on 22 July 1922 during the discussion about the renewal of Atatürk's authorisation. They published their manifesto in the newspaper Tan which was owned by Ali Şükrü, an MP. They formed an opposition group of 63 MPs, and though did not have a leader, Hüseyin Avni (Ulaş), Ali Şükrü and Selahattin were among the notable speakers of the group. During the Congress of Lausanne they heavily criticized
İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three time ...
and the Turkish delegation. Although not a member of the group, they supported
Rauf Rauf or Rawuf (Arabic: رَؤُوف ''ra’ūf'' or ''rawūf'') is an Arabic male given name or surname which is a noun and the exaggerated form of the name Raif (or Raef) meaning "kind, affectionate, benign", "sympathetic, merciful" or ''compassio ...
(later adopted the surname Orbay) during the election of the prime minister. (Before 1923 the government members were elected by the parliament one by one). The most important act of the group was a law proposal which aimed to end Atatürk's membership in the parliament on 25 November 1922. According to the proposal, in order to be an MP one had to live in the 1922s Turkey for the last 5 years. Atatürk being a soldier had spent most of his time in the battle fronts out of 1922s Turkey. In 1922 December, the proposal was rejected, but it showed the strength of the opposition.Atatürk's speeches {{in lang, tr
/ref>


End of the group

Most of the group members lost their seats in the elections held on 3 July 1923, but Rauf Orbay kept his seat and in 1924 he was one of the founders of the Progressive Republican Party.


References

1922 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1923 disestablishments in Turkey Political organizations based in Turkey