Our President’s message for 19 May

Our President Mehmet Aydoğan issued a message for 19 May, the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.

In his message, Aydoğan said the greatest epic of heroism was written on 19 May 1919, and that as a nation, in unity and togetherness, a great victory was won against the enemy: “It is the beginning of our War of Independence, in which the greatest examples of courage, sacrifice and heroism were given.

The Turkish Nation, which places love of the homeland above all values and has never compromised its independence, owes its centuries-long existence in the world to this quality. A country can be sure of its future only if the young people it raises are educated, healthy and conscientious, and embrace their own core values. Nations that do not create opportunities for their young people, do not meet their needs and do not hear their voices put their future at risk. Our duty today is to make sure our young people grow up as individuals who can carry our country beyond the level of contemporary civilisation, in line with the goal set by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and to trust them.

With these feelings and thoughts, I respectfully remember all the heroes of the War of Independence, above all Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades in arms, and our martyrs and veterans, and I wholeheartedly congratulate our young people, the guarantee of our future, on 19 May, the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.”