Republic Day celebrated across country with ceremonies
ISTANBUL
Türkiye has celebrated the 99th anniversary of Republic Day with various ceremonies across the country.
Celebrations began with thousands’ visit to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in the capital Ankara.
Visiting Anıtkabir with the state officials, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in his message on Oct. 29, “With the democracy and development revolutions we have carried out in the last 20 years, we have removed the thick walls that have been built between the people and the republic.”
Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop, Vice President Fuat Oktay, main opposition the Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) chair Devlet Bahçeli, İYİ (Good) Party chair Meral Akşener, President of the Constitutional Court Zühtü Arslan, ministers, representatives of the high judiciary, the chief of General Staff, General Yaşar Güler, and force commanders also attended the ceremony held in Anıtkabir.
The Communication Directorate held three-dimensional video mapping demonstrations at historical sites in Ankara and Istanbul on Oct. 29.
A military parade was held in Vatan Street in Istanbul in the early hours of the day, while in the districts of Beşiktaş, Kadıköy and Kartal, people participated in kilometers-long “republic parades.”
There were also concerts and fireworks shows in Üsküdar district.
Many citizens also attended the ceremony held in Bergama Cumhuriyet (Republic) Square in the Aegean province of İzmir.
İzmir’s Bayraklı Municipality opened an exhibition themed “Atatürk and the Republic” that lasted throughout the week.
As part of the 99th anniversary activities, Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality organized a torchlight procession with gondolas and boats on Porsuk Stream.
Thousands of people from the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir as well as from the surrounding provinces waited for the arrival of the procession with the marches played.
The day was also celebrated in the Turkish Cypriot part of Cyprus with a series of ceremonies. The events, which started with President Ersin Tatar laying a wreath at the Atatürk monument in the capital Nicosia, continued with marching bands and concerts in all cities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky celebrated the Republic Day on his Twitter account. “I wish peace, well-being and prosperity to the friendly Turkish people. I believe that our joint efforts will bring peace, security and stability back to the Black Sea region.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also sent a congratulatory message to Erdoğan.
U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake shared a photo with his wife in front of Anıtkabir on his Instagram account, saying in English and Turkish, “Peace at home, peace in the world. Happy Republic Day.”
The slogan “Peace at home, peace in the world,” “Yurtta sulh, cihanda sulh” in Turkish, was first pronounced by Atatürk on April 20, 1931, to the public during his tours of Anatolia. This stance was later integrated and implemented as the foreign policy of Türkiye.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif also made a statement in Turkish with a Twitter post and said, “The heroic struggle for independence of the Turkish nation under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has an important place in the records of history.”
The Greek Foreign Ministry, which had not published similar messages in recent years, celebrated “the Republic Day of the Turkish people and government” on its social media account.
International organizations also congratulated Türkiye on Republic Day.
On Oct. 29, 1923, Atatürk officially declared the name of the nation and proclaimed the country’s status as a republic.
A vote then took place in the Grand National Assembly, and Atatürk, a revolutionary statesman, was elected as the first president of the Republic of Türkiye by unanimous vote. Since then, Türkiye celebrates Republic Day on Oct. 29 annually.