― 27 декабря 2024 г.
Collection of Poems by Kasım Tynystanov presented in Bishkek
The book presentation and panel discussion held in the conference hall of Manas University Kasım Tınıstanov hosted by the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University and organized in cooperation of TURKSOY with the Maarif Foundation of Türkiye, TIKA, the Yunus Emre Institute, the Counsellor's Office of the Turkish Republic for Education in Bishkek and the Ahmed Javad Institute, attracted great interest among students and scholars.
The presentation of the “Collection of Kassym Tynystabov’s Poems’ prepared by Sabirbek Börübay as a contribution of TURKSOY’s publications to the enrichment of the litarature of the Turkic World and the panel discussion on “Repression in the Turkic World and Kassym Tynystanov, the Pioneer of Kyrgyz National Culture” was attended by scholars and students who also had the opportunity to visit the exhibition of photographs of TURKSOY on intellectuals who were executed despite their innocence during the Stalin era.
Delivering the opening speech of the event, TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev underlined that TURKSOY, which was established with the aim of preserving and spreading the common culture and civilisation of the Turkic World, has made and will continue to make the necessary efforts to ensure that illustrious figures of the Turkic World are not forgotten by new generations and remain in its common memory while also contributing to the enrichment of the library of TURKSOY everyday.
Kassym Tynystanov is one of the founding fathers of TURKSOY
Stating that Tynystanov's works for Kyrgyz culture and civilisation are important enough to affect the fate of a people, Raev said: ‘He laid the foundations of the Kyrgyz language we speak today, gave the first examples of our language in the fields of poetry, story, theatre, and the grammar we still use with many textbooks he wrote, Týstan Uulu, who invented the terms of mathematics and geography, also worked on the preservation of Kyrgyz national identity and culture, especially on the Manas epic, and fought with his pen for the Kyrgyz people to remain unassimilated until today.’
Repression means carnage
Reminding that the famous Kyrgyz literary figure Salijan Zhigitov translated the word repression as a ‘carnage’, Raev wished intellectuals who lost their lives in 1937-38 to rest in peace and said that on behalf of TURKSOY, he will do whatever it takes to ensure that their names are not forgotten.
What have we done for our mother tongue?
Speaking at the event, the Secretary of State of Kyrgyzstan Süyünbek Kasmambetov approached the values represented by Kassym Tynystanov from a linguistic point of view, noting that Kyrgyz had become an unspoken and unscientific language during the Soviet Union and said: ‘After our independence, many laws entered into force to ensure tue use of Kyrgyz language in litrature and science, but laws cannot make us love our mother tongue. We can only love our mother tongue with our heart, by speaking and writing it’.
In his speech, Almaz Ibrayev, Acting Rector of Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University, stated that repression was not only in the 37-38 period but also spread over many years and said: ‘It is possible to expand this concept as cultural repression, economic repression, historical repression. As it can be understood from this definition, during the Soviet Union period, it was tried to play with the destiny of a nation, but it was not successful. Patriotic intellectuals such as Kassim Tinstan Uulu, who came out of the Kyrgyz people, were effective in this.’
Medal of TURKSOY awarded to Almaz Ibrayev and Recai Dogan
TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev awarded the Medal of TURKSOY to Prof. Dr. Almaz Ibrayev and Prof. Dr. Recai Dogan in recognition of their work for the common culture and civilisation of the Turkic World.
After the award ceremony, the Deputy Rector of the Manas University Prof. Dr. Recai Dogan thanked Secretary General Raev and stated that the Manas University and TURKSOY have similar mission statements and that he will do his best to preserve and promote the common culture and civilisation of the Turkic World.
In his speech, Mr. Sabırbek Börübay, who prepared the book ‘A Collection of Kassym Tynystanov’s Poems’, stated that Kassym Tynystanov who was unfairly accused and lost his life, continues to live in every corner of Kyrgyzstan today, and that he will be very happy if the book he has prepared contributes to this great cause even if it may only be a small contribution.
In the panel moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Halit Aşlar, invited scholars Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Dilek, Sımbat Maksutova, Prof. Dr. F. Güner Dilek and Muhammet Maralbek presented their papers on the life and work of Kassym Tynystanov.
The event which took place in the presence of Tynystanov’s grandson Tengdik Tynystanov ended with a photo session and the handover of souvemirs along with certificates of appreciation.
