August 30 is the 'People's Victory'

The messages given by the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly and Commander-in-Chief Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,

while evaluating the August 30 Great Offensive, are important for understanding what the August 30 Victory signifies.

30 Ağustos Zaferinin ne anlama geldiğini bilmek için önemlidir.

* ...I do not recall a field battle as decisive as the victory achieved here by the Turkish Nation, which had such a definitive impact on all of history—not just our own history, but world history—by setting a new trend.

* ...Gentlemen, the most important and essential factor among the various elements of this magnificent victory is that the Turkish nation has taken its unconditional sovereignty into its own hands.

* ...There should be no doubt that the foundation of the new Turkish State, the young Turkish Republic, was solidified here. (1924)

With this Victory, Gazi Mustafa Kemal emphasized that:

1. The War of National Independence had been definitively won,

2. As a new trend in the world, independence movements would begin in countries under captivity,

3. The true owner of the victory was the Turkish Nation, which had taken sovereignty into its own hands,

4. The establishment of the Republic of Turkey had been finalized.

*

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's definition of the August 30 Victory, which he described in his 'Nutuk' (Speech) as a 'noble work,' serves as a lesson for today.

'...This work is the immortal monument of the Turkish Nation's idea of freedom and independence. My joy and happiness are infinite because I am a child of the nation that created this work and the Commander-in-Chief of its army.'

* You will launch a War of Independence against imperialist occupation,

* You will go out into an Anatolia plagued by scarcity, poverty, and despair, and you will involve the people in the struggle as a Nation on the path to Freedom and Independence,

* You will establish a National Assembly from their representatives and hand over sovereignty to the People, to the Nation,

* You will form the People's Army and become the Commander-in-Chief by the decision of the Assembly,

* You will ensure that the War of National Independence—the first and only one of its kind in world history—is managed through the decisions of the deputies in the Assembly and through democracy,

* As Commander-in-Chief, you will be in the midst of the war on the front lines and you will achieve Victory,

* Then, by the decision of the deputies, you will carry out a Revolution and the establishment of the State, 'The people of Turkey who founded the Republic of Turkey are called the Turkish Nation' by saying this, you will hand it over to all the People,

* And you will not claim any reward for yourself other than joy and happiness...

This is how one becomes the leader of the people and the Commander-in-Chief of the army.

*

Let us ask ourselves,

Who is the People who own this great Victory won 104 years ago?

The People whom Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk called the creators of the August 30 Victory,

are our grandfathers and grandmothers from two or three generations ago. In other words, it is us.

August 30 Victory Day is the Victory Day of the People, of all of us, who are the children of those who created the Victory.

The truth that everyone must know and accept is;

* August 30 is not just a military victory won on a battlefield.

* It is a victory where the first defeat of imperialism in the military field was finalized.

* It is the foundation of the fully independent, democratic, and secular Republic of Turkey.

Those who govern our country today in the name of the People,

* Cannot ban the People from celebrating their own Victory,

* Those who are the representatives of the Nation cannot forget that the Grand National Assembly earned the title of 'Gazi' (Veteran) because it managed our War of National Independence, which concluded with the August 30 Victory,

* Cannot be a part of the current plans of the imperialists whose occupation we ended 104 years ago.

*

I commemorate the leader of our August 30 Victory, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his comrades-in-arms,

and our Martyrs and Veterans who gave their lives on the path to our freedom and independence, with respect and gratitude.

Happy August 30 Victory Day.