The Afghanistan Visit Of Adnan Menderes And The Reflections Of This Visit In The Turkish Press

Türkiye has determined its foreign policy especially in order to get the support of America in the first years of Adnan Menderes When he was in power. As a result of these policies, Adnan Menderes got into close relations with the Islamic countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. In line with this, the government made its realtions with Afghanistan much more intense and following this, the visit by Adnan Menders to Kabil came to the fore. The visit that would made by Menderes had actually been planned the year before. The vice President of Afghanistan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Serdar Naim Han made some negotiations relating to Pakistan-Afghanistan isssue that emerged from Peştunistan and he even talked to Menderes about this issue. In the press speech made after these negotiations, it was revealed that Menderes accepted to be a mediator between these two fraternal countries. Then the subject of this mediation was accepted by Afghanistan and Pakistan governments. However, some problems that emerged delayed it. One ofthe issues that would be negotiated during Menderes’s visit to Kabil would be the participation of Afghanistan in the Baghdad Pact. The year before (1955), “ The problems that we have make us so busy that we can’t focus on this subject.” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Serdar Naim Han. Briefly, as long as the problem between Afghanistan and Pakistan continued, it would not be possible for Afghanistan to participate in the Baghdad Pact. That’s why the visit of Adnan Menderes to Kabil was so important. If the present issue was solved there would be no reason left to exclude Afghanistan from the Baghdad pact. It was crucial for Afghanistan to be the member of Baghdad Pact in that it has common borders with Pakistan, Iran and the Soviet Union because ıf this was realized a peace zone would be formed from Calcuta to Trakya. The visit ofMenderes to Kabil started as if it was a festival, the streets from the Kabil airport to theGülhane Mansion were completely filled with poeple. The city was decorated with Turkish and Afghanistan flags form top to bottom. Thousands of people were applauding and waving the flags in their hands crying “zindabat”. The people in Kabil were saying that they had never seen a meeting ceremony in the center of government in which so many people took part . In the Gülhane Mansion those would participate in the negotiations that would start on 27 July 1956 at 10:00: The Prİme Minister Adnan Menderes, the substitute of Interior and the substitute of Foreign Affairs Ethem Menderes, the General Secretary of Foreign Affairs M. Birgi, the ambasssador of the Turkish Republic in Kabil Zekai Okan, the General Manager in second of the Foreign Affairs Orhan Eralp. On behalf of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister Serdar Davut Han, the Vice Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, then Vice Prime Minister Ali Muhammed, the General Manager of Foreign Politics Abdurrahman Pejvak and the ambassador of Afghanistan in Ankara ,Esadullah Seraj

Keywords

Türkiye, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Peştunistan, Bagdad Pact, Adnan Menderes