My Public Announcement
The author expresses dismay at being excluded from a state-sponsored book project on Iğdır, arguing that the exclusion of experienced local scholars based on political views or ethnicity is a disservice to the region and the state.
Upon reading the article titled “OUR CITY IĞDIR,” published in the Yeşil Iğdır Newspaper on 18-12-2019 under the signature of Mr. Emir Şıktaş, my heart truly trembled. According to the news, a sourcebook project to introduce Iğdır in all its aspects, referencing the works of our Iğdır-born authors Ziya Zeki Acar, Nizamettin Onk, and the late Nihat Çetinkaya, has been initiated under the coordination of the Provincial Directorate of National Education. As an individual who has authored eight books on Iğdır, including “Iğdır Sevdası” (Love for Iğdır), and dozens of articles, and also considering my esteemed teacher Akay Aktaş, who knows Iğdır in every detail and, with years of experience, could be a source himself, along with our valuable writers İbrahim Güner and Mehmet Nuri Güneş, not seeing our names on the list has deeply saddened me. The esteemed Governorship also succumbed to the same “discriminatory” approach, not inviting us to the book fair held during the year. I address the esteemed public: A STATE-SPONSORED BOOK THAT WILL TAKE IĞDIR BACKWARDS AND BE WRITTEN WITH THESES, THE ACCURACY OF WHICH HAS BEEN REFUTED BY THE MAJORITY, IS THE GREATEST EVIL THAT CAN BE DONE TO OUR IĞDIR. I WISH TO REMIND THAT DISREGARDING OUR IMPORTANT AUTHORS BASED ON THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS AND ETHNIC ORIGINS IS, IN A SENSE, OUR STATE DISREGARDING ITS OWN EXISTENCE. WE ARE NOT AFTER FAME, GLORY, HONOR, OR MONEY, BUT DELIVERING ACCURATE INFORMATION TO OUR PEOPLE IS OUR PRIMARY AND MOST IMPORTANT DUTY AS INTELLECTUALS.
SINCERELY,
MÜCAHİT ÖZDEN HUN
