Speaking Out

 

 

Ambassador E. G. Abascal:  Cuba and Turkey in history

 

 

 

When Cuban Ambassador Ernesto Gómez Abascal arrived in Ankara late last year, he was no stranger to the Eastern Mediterranean, having previously served as ambassador to Syria as well as – briefly – Iraq. The author of three books and innumerable articles, mainly about the Middle East, he did not waste time in re-orienting his research efforts towards Turkey. Here he makes a preliminary attempt to place the historical relations between Cuba and Turkey into historical perspective. In doing so, he draws on the National Archive of Cuba and the Historical Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Relations in Havana – and unearths some little-known facts…

 

 

 

In a certain sense, the history of relations between Turkey and Cuba begins in the 15th century, when the occupation of Constantinople, and the domination by the Turks of the routes which then linked Western Europe to the East, impelled navigators and rulers to seek for alternative passages, leading them to arrive in America in 1492. In this way, the arrival of the Europeans in America – and Cuba - was due to the Turks.

 

Sailor’s tales

 

Information on relations between Turkey and Cuba in those days is hard to come across – perhaps unsurprisingly, given the distance between the two countries. Yet distance was no obstacle to the famous Turkish navigator Piri Reis, who as early as the first decades of the 16th century drew astonishingly accurate maps of the Caribbean Sea where Cuba is located.  

 

Anther geographical puzzle is the name given to a group of islands just off the northeast coast of Cuba: the Turks and Caicos. Caic is a Turkish word that means “boat”. Could the name of these islands signal an early Turkish presence in the region? And what of the little bay in Cuba’s most westerly province of Pinar del Rio which is known as “Mataturcos” (Kill the Turks)? Did some uninvestigated historical misfortune befall citizens of this friendly country there?

 

Navigation registers tell us that in February 28, 1596, the Spanish ship San Agustín anchored in the Port of Havana, with 45 Muslims among its oarsmen, 15 of them apparently Turks, namely: “Ramadan and Mommy, from Negroponte; Atia, from Telez; Alicalari, from Drahaman; Isufe, Rexefe, Isain, Alí, Beli and Brahen from Anatolia; and others from Rodas and the Black Sea”. Documents in the Cuban National Archive record that in 1640 an English merchant ship was captured by a Turkish corsair to the south of Cuba and before the coasts of Panama. Perhaps the Archives of the Indias in Sevilla, Spain, or the record offices of Istanbul would be able to provide more information on the origin of the said vessel. 

 

Revolutionary angles

 

Carlos Manuel de Cespedes is an essential personality in the history of Cuba, regarded as the “Father of the Homeland”. He began the armed insurrection against the Spanish colonial domain on October 10, 1868 and became the first president of the Republic of Cuba in Arms. A lawyer, an intellectual and a rich landowner, he combined the scream for independence with the granting of freedom to slaves. Between 1842 and 1844, he had undertaken a trip to Europe which carried him, among other countries, to Turkey, Palestine and Egypt. During this journey, he studied the customs, history, laws and social atmosphere of these countries. Having delved into the culture of these peoples, he returned to Cuba with new ideas and dreams of freedom.  

 

There are also a large number of references to Ottoman Turkey in the writings of José Martí, the ideologist of National Independence, who died in combat in 1895, but whose thoughts have retained their validity right up to the present day. In the voluminous Complete Works of this journalist, critic, writer and revolutionary politician, published in Havana, we find numerous notes, mostly extracted from press articles published in the last decades of the nineteenth century.

 

"Weak already are the links that unite The Door with the tributary state of Rumanía," comments José Martí (Volume 14, p.13) as Turkey protested to Spain over infringements of diplomatic courtesy in Romania. A hundred pages later, he records that: “…the revolt in Egypt has as its goal the suppression of European power in Arab lands.  It starts up from Constantinople, invades the Isthmus, arrives in Trípoli and shakes Tunisia, this Mohammedan wave, put to sleep, but not evaporated, at the end of the Middle Age.”

 

Wars and generals

 

In another chronicle (Volume 23, p.262), José Martí records that: "One of the most remarkable men in modern Turkey has died in Constantinople.  He was called Ruchdi Pachá and was a man of State and author of books.  Born in Constantinople in 1819, he was a general, minister of war and skilled diplomat... The Turks knew him as a great man for his counsel and his bravery in battle." 

 

José Martí - a person with an incredible vision of the future - died at the beginning of the last stage of the War of Independence against Spain. Those were years of terrible conflict, as the Spanish Crown expended its last man and last peseta in its zeal to maintain control over its only (including Puerto Rico) remaining colonial possession in America. During those years, the Turkish general Enver Paþa was in Havana with the mission of informing the Ottoman authorities of the course of the hostilities. His reports, which may be of great historical interest, must be searched for in the files of the time in Istanbul. 

 

The war concluded in 1898, when Spain, weakened by almost thirty years of conflict in Cuba, was unable to resist the military intervention of the United States, which as is clear from extensive official documents of Washington, long held the ambition of taking possession of Cuba and annexing it.

 

A question of recognition

 

Even under the military occupation of the United States - and with the prior approval of a Constitution that included an amendment (known as Amendment Platt) in which the right of the United States to intervene in the Island was consecrated - a Cuban government was elected.  In the historical files of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Cuba, I found a disclosed note dated November 10 of 1903, wherein the Department of State in Washington informs the Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations, Dr. Gonzalo of Quesada, that the Turkish government has not agreed to recognize to the United States the right of protection or consular authority over Cuban citizens. This may be interpreted as a sign of Turkish support for the independence of Cuba against the pretensions of Washington.

 

While there was an Ottoman presence in the Cuban war of independence against Spain, it was now specifically Turkish. Among the many Ottoman emigrés who signed up in the independence revolt was Captain of the Liberation Army, Elías Tuma, of Lebanese origin. The emigration increased further in the early decades of the twentieth century, when the Ottoman Empire crumbled. Many of the new arrivals were referred to as Turkish, even though they were Arabs, because they carried documents issued by Turkey. Their contribution to the formation of Cuban national culture is remembered with gratitude.

 

Diplomatic relations

 

However, diplomatic relationships between Cuba and Turkey were not established officially up to November 23, 1952, when a ferocious dictatorship governed in Cuba, and the world, having concluded the Second World War, was buried in what was called the “Cold War." In the late 1950s, a Turkish ambassador was accredited in Havana, first from the Turkish Embassy in Washington and later from Mexico. Cuba accredited a residing ambassador in Ankara for the first time in 1982. But relations did not truly intensify until more recent years.

 

In this sense, the visit of President Fidel Castro to Istanbul in 1996, in occasion of the Habitat summit, was a special landmark. President Castro received a magnificent welcome at the official level as well as the popular.  Since then at least 12 important agreements have been signed with different government institutions to consolidate and promote relations in various spheres. There have been six intergovernmental meetings of the Economic, Commercial and Scientific and Technical Cooperation Committees. Seven Cuban ministers have visited Ankara and thirteen Turkish ministers have traveled to Havana, presiding over important delegations, included the Chancellors of both countries, in what perhaps constitutes the biggest exchange in Turkey with a Latin American country. Cultural, sporting and social exchanges, and visits by political parties, have been even more intense, helping to solidify and augment understanding between our peoples.

 

Looking ahead

 

Special importance should be attached to tourism. The figures are modest but by no means worthless. In spite of the distance and the absence of direct flights, visits are increasing every year, and display the growing interest that exists in Turkey for Cuba. There are plans to start regular flights between Istanbul and Havana in the year 2006.

 

Trade volumes are small but a basis has been created for growth in the years ahead. We have got to know one another and identified interesting areas. Some traditional Cuban products can be found in Turkey, as well as modern ones such as medications from our biotechnical industry.

 

There are no disputes that separate Cuba and Turkey in the political and diplomatic domains.  Our positions on the main topics of international interest almost always coincide. We maintain a strong collaboration in the United Nations and other international organizations.  Cuba has manifested its support for the aspiration of Turkey to be a member of the UN Security Council. The two countries are firm defenders of national independence and reject interference in their internal affairs. We do not accept hegemonism; we are against war and in favour of peace and the peaceful solution of conflicts.

 

In spite of the important differences in their history, culture and religion, our peoples, of noble feelings and fraternal spirit, have much in common in their sense of national pride and determination to defend their own values, and in their histories of struggle and resistance.  These principles unite us and constitute the foundations of a strong friendship.

 

 

 

(DIPLOMAT  -  October 2005  -  Ankara)