To understand Atatürk...

That morning, on November 10, at five minutes past nine, not only Turkey but the entire world was bidding farewell to a great leader as he passed into eternity. There was no before, and there would be no after. He was the leader not just of the century, but of millennia, of all time, and so he shall remain. Understanding him, truly grasping him, is not for everyone. To understand him, one must first be a human being, having grasped the meaning of humanity. When I see those who still do not understand him, I do not feel sad, nor am I surprised; I only pity them. Because they have not yet reached the maturity that is the requirement of humanity, and they have not solved what it means to be human. 

I was in Azerbaijan last week. I had the opportunity to attend the Azerbaijan Victory Day celebration ceremonies. I also had the chance to express my feelings at the celebration ceremony at Baku State University. Sharing the enthusiasm of our brothers and sisters in the same temporal and spatial environment must be a blessing from God. In fact, the acceptance of Azerbaijan's victory and the signing of the ceasefire agreement took place on November 10, 2020. However, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared November 8 as Victory Day because November 10 is the day Mustafa Kemal Atatürk passed into eternity. This impressed me even more. Brotherhood and kinship also bring empathy. You laugh together, you cry together. 

Our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters have great respect and devotion for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. An Atatürk Research Center has been established in the city center, and the country's thinkers are explaining our Atatürk to our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters through the work they are doing at this center. They explain his life philosophy, his worldview, his secular and democratic perspective, his nationalism, and his humanity to children and young people. They attach importance to future generations being enlightened by Atatürk's light. And they are doing exactly the right thing.

The great leader Atatürk. History is full of those who declared themselves leaders and whose leadership was buried in the ground along with them. Being a leader is not about blustering in squares or on podiums; being a leader is not about making people pledge allegiance by frightening, suppressing, or silencing them. Being a leader is not about winning the votes of the masses in elections by using propaganda strategies. Being a leader is a process that functions on its own. A true leader sets goals not for himself, but for the future of his country. He works not for his own power, but for the peace and prosperity of his people. The people determine the leader.

When Atatürk left all his life comforts behind and set out for Samsun to save his country from occupying forces, he was not aiming to be a leader; he was fulfilling his duty to humanity. He had set out to save a nation that had lived independently for centuries, even millennia, from the terrible situation it had been forced into, and he achieved his goal. His second goal was to establish a fully independent Republic of Turkey, and he did it. He set his third goal as the country reaching the level of advanced civilizations. His words, “My humble body will surely turn to dust one day, but the Republic of Turkey will live forever,” were the call of a true leader, showing his people the goal of constant survival and advancement. 

Atatürk was a great leader. After concluding the war of independence with victory and establishing the independent Republic of Turkey, he initiated the process of structuring the necessary institutions and organizations to educate his country's people, who had been left uneducated for years, and to nourish them with art and culture. With the support of scientists and experts he invited from abroad, he created the plan and program for progress in all stages of education, in science, in culture, and in art. 

He addressed his villagers and farmers by saying, “Gentlemen.” He started the education mobilization from the village. He introduced the principle of equality of opportunity in education. When the time came, he took the chalk in his hand and stood at the blackboard, teaching his people to read and write. When the time came, he taught them how to use a knife and fork at the dinner table. When the time came, he taught them how to dress, how to socialize, and how to engage with art, music, and dance. 

He loved children. To set an example, he adopted little Ülkü and tried to be a model for society in terms of how to relate to children.  He led the way in sending gifted children and young people to important educational institutions in Western countries to be trained. Because he knew that the only way for a society to develop and for a country to live forever was through education. Only by educating children and young people in every field of life could the level of advanced civilization be reached. 

Because he believed in the power of science. He saw that countries that held power were advancing through science, knowledge, and technology. 

Atatürk is a true and unique leader. With the victories he won, the country he rebuilt, the state he founded, his ideas that have gained universal validity, and his ideology developed on the basis of humanism, where secularism, democracy, freedom, equality, and brotherhood are taken as the foundation, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk will live forever. 

I commemorate our unique, unparalleled leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk once again with longing, respect, and love on the anniversary of his passing into eternity.