ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The private papers of the former wife of modern Turkey founder Kemal Ataturk -- kept in a vault for the last 25 years -- will not be published.
Even today, 82 years since Ataturk took the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and set up a modern, secular republic, speaking ill of Ataturk is a punishable offense, the Washington Times reported Monday.
Ataturk's marriage to a daughter of a wealthy merchant ended in divorce after three years.
After the divorce, Latife Usakligil lived alone until her death in 1975 and never spoke about her life with the Turkish leader.
A court order required the 170-page diary and love letters she bequeathed to be stored in a vault at the Turkish History Foundation until this month.
Turkish History Foundation chief Yusuf Halacoglu now says at the request of Usakligil's surviving family, the decision has been made not to release the papers.
