The Greek occupation of İzmir and protest meetings in İstanbul 15 May 1919 – 13 January 1920

Abstract

The basic goal of this thesis is to analyse the initial reaction of the Ottoman public towards the occupation of İzmir by the Greek forces as reflected in the Ottoman press with a special focus on the eight protest gatherings that were held in Dârü'l-fünûn, Üsküdar, Kadıköy and four in the Sultanahmet square between 19 May 1919 and 13 January 1920. The main material is derived from five Ottoman newspapers namely; Alemdâr, Hadisât, Sabâh, İkdâm and İleri. Their coverage of the protest gatherings are used as the main source to see and reflect on the ideas expressed in the gatherings, the evolvement of the tone of the speeches given at the protests and the differences between the newspapers' coverage of the events in order to understand the Ottoman public and the Ottoman press's reaction against this crucial event, which resulted in sparking the National Struggle. This thesis is composed of four chapters. First chapter deals with the political events that occur between the signing of the Mudros Armistice, up until the occupation of İzmir. The second chapter deals with the newspaper articles and editorials of 16 and 17 May 1919 newspapers that are within the scope of this thesis. The third chapter is focused on the newspaper coverage and the speeches delivered at the eight protest gatherings that took place in İstanbul between 19 May 1919 and 13 January 1920 in order to protest the occupation of İzmir.