Let us engage in self-criticism, not celebration!

Let us engage in self-criticism, not celebration!

Otherwise, in a short time, we will have no Republic left to celebrate.

It is that clear.

Those who hold power within the country have completely lost control.

The goal of the Islamists, the Kurdish nationalists, the Atlanticists, the fake leftists, and the funded activists is clear.

To destroy the Republic, to annihilate republican values, to drag the country into the darkness of the Middle Ages; to cast the people of my country into the blind pit of religious extremism, ethnicism, and sectarianism.

Their goal is clear, but what have those who promised to walk tirelessly on the path opened by Atatürk, toward the goal he showed, done until today?

Let us stop and look at ourselves first.

Unfortunately, for 101 years, we have not been able to crown our Republic with a true democracy. As a result, both human rights and the rule of law have remained mere words.

We thought that bringing reactionaries and enemies of the Republic to power was a requirement of democracy.

The price of sacrificing quality for quantity is standing right before us!

Yet, look at what we achieved in the first 15 years.

But what about afterwards!

From that day to this, we have not been able to raise our country to the level of the most prosperous and civilized nations in the world.

We could not provide our nation with the widest range of prosperity, means, and resources.

For this, we needed to think about our time measurement not according to the lax mentality of past centuries, but according to the speed and movement concept of our own century, but we failed.

In the early years of the Republic, while the Turkish nation was walking on the path of progress and civilization, the torch it held in its hand and mind was positive science.

Today, we no longer have a torch of positive science in our hands and minds that illuminates our path. It has been replaced by the pitch-black darkness of minds covered in spiderwebs.

That is why understanding October 29th today is perhaps much more important than celebrating it.

If things continue this way, we will soon see that the Republic we celebrate without really knowing what it represents has remained in our hands as an empty shell.

Let us try to explain as best as we can.

With the Republic, sovereignty had passed from the Sultan, the Caliph, the Sheikh-ul-Islam, the religious communities, the sects, and the clergy to the nation.

Power had descended from the heavens and become worldly.

The 'Ummah' (religious community) had been replaced by the 'Nation'.

This is the fundamental reason why reactionaries today spew hatred at the revolutions with foam at their mouths.

They would no longer be able to deceive and exploit anyone with medieval Arab fairy tales.

But unfortunately, we never truly understood what national sovereignty was, nor did we want to.

Perhaps it did not suit our interests.

From that day to this, the vast majority of my country's people have run to those who see them as subjects at the first opportunity.

They shied away from living with freedom of conscience without falling under anyone's domination. They took refuge in sects and religious communities.

Perhaps they were afraid of being worldly, of working for this world, and of giving an account in this world instead of leaving it to the afterlife!

Unfortunately, today we have fallen behind where we were 101 years ago.

The revolutionary spirit of that time had taken Turkey from the Middle Ages and carried it into the modern era within a few decades. Everyone who is not blind and has not rented out their mind and conscience can see where today's reactionary mentality wants to take us.

From its very first day, the Republic has been under attack by internal and external enemies.

The gains achieved were dismantled one by one starting from 1950, when the counter-revolutionary process began.

While Western-backed reactionism became institutionalized, the country has been dragged into the trap of identity politics for the last half-century.

However, the attack has never been as great as it is today.

They have become so blinded that they can say, "I wish the Greeks had won."

They did not even hesitate to strap on swords on the steps of Hagia Sophia and curse Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The political Islamist government is in a hurry to say "Rest in peace" to the spirit of the Republic.

It is extremely hard to believe, but those at the head of the country's founding party are cooperating with them.

There are even those among them who claim that the founding paradigm was wrong.

They argue that if Atatürk had not established a nation-state in 1923, and had built the state not on the equality of citizens but on "equal citizenship" as the PKK says today—meaning if he had determined the administrative structure of the country according to ethnic and sectarian groups—we would not be experiencing these troubles today! That back then, the Kurds did not get what they deserved, and so on!

In other words, they are saying that when the first button is buttoned wrong, the mistake continues until the last button!

This approach should have nothing to do with ignorance.

Because those who have read even a little bit about modern history, the industrial revolution, the emergence and development of nation-states, and the enlightenment upon which the Republican revolution was based, can see—if they are not blinded by ideology—that this is an empty story, a malicious approach, and a political perception operation.

With the 1923 revolution, the course of history changed in these lands; this ancient nation was saved from extinction and found the chance to take its rightful place in the civilized world.

The nation-state had embarked on an effort to make everyone, from one end of the country to the other, equal and honorable citizens, regardless of religion, sect, or ethnic origin.

But it stumbled, and was made to stumble.

The circumstances and conditions we are in today are manifesting in an extremely unfavorable manner.

Let us not beat around the bush. We did not protect the Republic as we should have.

We remained silent as reactionaries took over politics.

We turned our heads the other way as the country's institutions fell one by one. CIA-fed religious figures tore the Turkish Armed Forces apart, and we were content to watch from the sidelines.

Our leftists, who should have embraced their revolutionary roots, stood like deer in headlights against the wind of identity politics blowing from across the Atlantic, preferring to engage in hostility toward the Republic from the comfortable space of identity politics.

Those who claimed to be Turkish nationalists first became the props of pan-Islamism and then melted away within it.

The capital that was fed, raised, and grew with the opportunities provided by the Republic became the biggest supporter of Islamist politics.

Liberals took on the task of legitimizing the reactionaries and filled their pockets with funds from the West.

It is possible to go on...

But what about the Turkish Youth, to whom Mustafa Kemal Atatürk addressed by saying, "O child of the Turkish future! Even in these circumstances and conditions, your duty is to save the Turkish independence and Republic. The strength you need is present in the noble blood in your veins"...

Let us not resort to rhetoric.

Unfortunately, it is the greatest disappointment!

While the country is being lost, those who can lift their heads from Instagram and TikTok are fleeing abroad. Those who cannot seem to be living in a parallel universe. And the voices of those who carry this anxiety remain faint.

But still, one should not lose heart.

We are on the right side of history. Reason will surely prevail at some point. We know that we must learn from recent history and walk in the light of reason and science.

Without forgetting that we are followers of a leader who said, "There are no hopeless situations. There are hopeless people. I have never lost my hope," let us put a period to our article by underlining our belief that the Republic of Turkey will remain forever.