Today in History – 30 July

President İnönü in the Aegean

President İsmet İnönü embarked upon an extensive tour of the Aegean with his wife Mevhibe Hanım and daughter Özden on July 30, 1949 from İzmir. During the tour that lasted until August 21st, İnönü visited almost all the counties of İzmir as well as Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, and Muğla. Often meeting with the people, the President sought support and equanimity from the public against any political tension in the following speech he delivered at a coffee house in Hisarönü:

Troubles are plenty; I am primarily burdened by all of them. Flaws are many; there are parties responsible for their causes and remedies. They will blame all or ninety-five percent of them on me. I will not be upset by any of it; I will take it all. However, I ask two things of you: First, we will not discriminate between citizens in the defense of the country by enemy attack. No one, in or outside of the country should doubt that. My second request is that you make no room for hostility between your compatriots regardless of any reason or influence. If we adhere to these two basic ideals, we can overcome other challenges.

The topic was similar in the speech he made at the Çınaraltı Coffee House in Tilkilik, İzmir:

We must avoid all hostility between citizens for the present and future of the country. Animosity is such a venom that if it enters our system as little as a drop, it can soon rot the entire body of the nation. There may be differences of opinion between citizens. Parties will certainly compete. Yet, there will be no animosity… If the air of hostility permeates the nation, one can no longer speak of the strength to fight at the frontiers.