Have we really been able to protect the Republic?

The 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, which Mustafa Kemal Atatürk called "my greatest work," will unfortunately not be celebrated with grand events or historic festivities.

Erdoğan and the AKP want to let the 100th anniversary of the Republic pass by quietly.

State institutions, led by TRT, have begun canceling ceremonies and events under various pretexts.

Erdoğan also decided to hold a rally for Gaza in Istanbul one day before Republic Day.

His primary goal is to overshadow October 29, the 100th anniversary of the Republic.

The government's calculation is as follows:

The Gaza rally will be reflected so heavily on the pages of pro-government newspapers, in television news bulletins, and on social media accounts directed by the government the following day that Republic Day and the 100th anniversary of the Republic will remain in the background.

In fact, they are engaging in pure oriental cunning.

The government's real issue is certainly not the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza!

The thought at the back of their minds is, "What can we do, how can we manage to overshadow the 100th anniversary of the Republic?"

Where they cannot escape the celebrations, they are striving to turn them into propaganda for Erdoğan and the AKP.

I have been listening to the corridors of the capital.

Actually, until a while ago, Erdoğan wanted the 100th anniversary of the Republic to be celebrated with numerous events and grand ceremonies.

He even gave the necessary instructions on this matter.

Of course, with one condition...

In all these events and ceremonies, the founders of the Republic, its philosophy, and the achievements of the Republic were to be ignored, and instead, Erdoğan and his one-man rule were to be brought to the forefront.

Erdoğan saw the 100th anniversary of the Republic as an opportunity for his own propaganda ahead of the local elections.

Preparations for some events were even started before the May 14-28 elections.

However, whatever happened, Erdoğan suddenly changed his mind.

With instructions from the Palace, events that could be canceled were canceled; it was decided that events for which preparations were already completed would be held within the framework of a "commemoration program."

So, why did Erdoğan change his mind!

I received a few different answers to my questions regarding this.

First, his inner circle gave Erdoğan the following advice:

- Even if the 100th-anniversary celebrations of the Republic are held in the way we envisioned, it will strengthen the anti-government front. We would pave the way for the Republican base, which has been unable to recover since the May 14-28 elections, to come together again. It would be to our disadvantage in the local elections. The enthusiasm in society would turn against us.

The second was a warning regarding the increasingly severe economic crisis.

- 100th-anniversary celebrations in major cities like Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir could turn into anti-government rallies. There is such a trend in society. If protests start during the celebrations and events, it could be very difficult to stop!

It is even said that in one of the high-level meetings held on this subject, the example of how Ceaușescu was overthrown in Romania as a result of such an uprising was cited.

In short, it would be naive to think that Erdoğan, whose political algorithm is to win elections and stay in power, would not instrumentalize the 100th anniversary of the Republic for his own benefit.

It appears that the celebrations, festivities, and events will be held in the streets with the participation of the public.

But will the public celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic—which saved them from the Middle Ages, turned people who were "subjects" into "citizens," exalted our women who, as in Nazım's lines, come after our oxen in our place at the table, and gave them the value they deserve by taking as a guide Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's words, "Turkish woman, you are worthy not of crawling on the ground, but of rising to the skies on shoulders," and which is the "protector of the unprotected"—with enthusiasm and by embracing it with great strength?

Unfortunately, Turkish society has not been able to pass this test well over the last 21 years!

This must be written with an open heart.

While the fundamental principles of the Republic are being demolished one by one, while secularism, the building block of modern democracy, is being effectively eliminated, while women's rights are being destroyed, while the country's founding fathers are being insulted by being called "two drunks," while the country's journalists and intellectuals, along with the republican, Atatürkist officers of the Turkish Armed Forces, are being thrown into prisons with despicable conspiracies, while all the achievements of the Republic are being lost one by one;

While Turkey is being quietly occupied by "asylum seekers," while there is an attempt to vaccinate the Anatolian people with Salafism through them, while the country's stones, soil, forests, streams, fields, vineyards, and gardens are being ruthlessly plundered; unfortunately, our people did not do what was necessary, they could not.

While the Islamist oligarchy seized all the institutions and organizations of the state and penetrated into the capillaries of the country, the vast majority of society—unfortunately—chose to remain silent.

Those who tried to speak out were silenced and neutralized through pressure, intimidation, and threats.

In the last 21 years, we have felt in every fiber of our being how accurately every line of the Address to the Youth was written.

Three days later is October 29...

Our Republic will complete a century.

And it is a very, very important opportunity for us to show how and how much we protect it, how much we have adopted and internalized its principles, and how strong a stance we can take against those who want to imprison this country in the darkness of the Middle Ages...

Perhaps it is the last opportunity!

HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY!