The Republic Forever

The Turkish miracle, which began with the National Struggle, continues with the Republic…

Our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the immortal founder of our Republic, defeated imperialism and the sultanate, and hoisted the Turkish nation's flag of independence on the flagpole of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey!

The principles and reforms of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk continue to be a beacon for all the oppressed nations of the world…

There is no other leader in the history of any country as great and wise as he, who saved his lands from enemy occupation despite impossible odds, defeated imperialism and all its collaborators, made his country fully independent and free, modernized and contemporized his nation, ensured equality between women and men, and took great strides to advance and develop his country.

Our Republic is 102 years old...

I believe that with each passing day, we better understand what a great value the Republic is for us and for this country.

As Atatürk pointed out in his words, "Oh, rising new generation, you are the future. We founded the Republic; you are the ones who will raise and sustain it," we are the ones who will protect our Republic and carry it further.

KNOWING OUR HISTORY…

Fabrications, lies, forgeries, and distortions regarding our history are made in every era. Knowing our past is the fundamental point of understanding our future. We must know our history. We should read the most important documents of the Turkish revolution: Atatürk’s 'Nutuk' (The Speech), and Turgut Özakman’s books 'Şu Çılgın Türkler' (Those Crazy Turks) and 'Cumhuriyet' (The Republic). If we have read them, we should read them again.

Of course, it is possible to add other works to this list:
Şevket Süreyya Aydemir ‘Tek Adam’ (The Only Man) (3 volumes), Andrew Mango 'ATATÜRK - The Founder of Modern Turkey', Falih Rıfkı Atay ‘Çankaya’, Halide Edip Adıvar ‘Türk’ün Ateşle İmtihanı’ (The Turk's Ordeal by Fire), Doğan Avcıoğlu ‘Milli Kurtuluş Tarihi’ (History of National Liberation) (4 volumes), Hasan İzzettin Dinamo ‘Kutsal İsyan’ (The Sacred Rebellion) (8 volumes), Mahmut Goloğlu ‘Cumhuriyet’e Doğru’ (Towards the Republic), ‘Türkiye Cumhuriyeti 1923’ (Republic of Turkey 1923), Kazım Karabekir ‘İstiklal Harbimiz’ (Our War of Independence), Kasım Özalp ‘Milli Mücadele 1919-1922’ (National Struggle 1919-1922), Sabahattin Selek ‘Milli Mücadele - Anadolu İhtilali’ (National Struggle - Anatolian Revolution), Bilal N. Şimşir ‘Lozan Telgrafları’ (Lausanne Telegrams), Niyazi Berkes ‘Atatürk ve Devrimler’ (Atatürk and Revolutions), Taner Timur ‘Türk Devrimi ve Sonrası’ (The Turkish Revolution and Its Aftermath), Attila İlhan ‘O Sarışın Kurt’ (That Blonde Wolf), Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu ‘Yaban’ (The Stranger), Barış Doster ‘Milli Mücadele Işığında Türkiye’ (Turkey in the Light of the National Struggle), ‘Cumhuriyet Nasıl Savunulur’ (How to Defend the Republic)…

OUR YESTERDAY, OUR TODAY, OUR FUTURE…

As we see what is happening in our region and in many countries around the world, as we see the blood, tears, deaths, and the suffering of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, and many other countries, shouldn't we understand the value of the Republic even more?

The Republic is the insurance of our living in an independent, free, and contemporary country!

Our yesterday, our today, our future…

Our conscience, our common sense, our courage, our intellect...

It will be eternal, meaning it will live forever!

Happy Republic Day!

I commemorate all our heroic martyrs and veterans, especially the founder of our Republic, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with respect, mercy, and gratitude.