Turkey to mark Sovereignty, Children’s Day

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Ceremonies will be held all over the country today to mark April 23, National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, on the 83rd anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Parliament.

The official ceremonies will witness a first as Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) commanders are expected to attend the reception at the Parliament for the first time since the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) members were first elected in 2007. The army’s decision to remove its unnamed boycott comes at a time when state officials are in talks with Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to solve the decades-old Kurdish problem.

The day is also marked as a children’s festival since children were awarded a special place in the April 23 festivities by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic.

An international children’s festival has been organized since 1979 to mark the occasion. The 35th edition of the International April 23 Children’s Festival, organized by the kids channel of the state-run TRT television, will be celebrated in the Aegean port city of İzmir this year. Hundreds of children from 45 countries are set to attend the celebrations and perform their countries’ traditional dances at parades and a gala event.