Turkey celebrates the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the republic

Today marks the 102nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic. It was on October 29, 1923, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, that the Turkish people finally broke the chains that the imperialist powers tried to impose on their freedom. At the cost of their own blood and lives, citizens opened a glorious page in their history - the era of the Turkish Republic.

As reported by BAKU.WS the path to independence was thorny. Six years after the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire, World War I broke out. The global conflict that began in 1914 involved the world's strongest powers. The Ottoman Empire was forced to enter into an alliance with Germany. After four years of bloodshed, the Ottoman Empire and its allies were defeated.

On October 30, 1918, the signed Armistice of Mudros effectively removed the Ottoman Empire from the war, but led to catastrophic consequences - straits, railways, and ports came under the control of the victorious powers, and the country was effectively occupied. The territory was divided between Greece, France, and Italy into occupation zones. In addition, this agreement had extremely negative consequences for the young Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, founded on May 28, 1918, which had been receiving military assistance from the Ottoman Empire.

On August 10, 1920, during the Paris Peace Conference, the Istanbul government, France, Italy, Great Britain, and Japan signed the Treaty of Sèvres. This was not just a document - it was a sentence to eternal division of Ottoman lands. However, despite all difficulties, the people did not submit to colonialism and did not surrender to the enemy.

Relying on the support of the people and drawing strength from their unity, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, together with his associates, arrived in Samsun on May 19, 1919. Fateful decisions were made in Erzurum and Sivas. The words of Mustafa Kemal, "There is only one power - the power of the nation. Only the strength of the people themselves will save the country," sounded in everyone's ears, igniting the fire of hope in people's hearts.

April 23, 1920, became a turning point. Deputies from all corners of the country gathered in Ankara at the session of the Grand National Assembly. The Assembly elected Mustafa Kemal Pasha as its chairman. Under his leadership, the liberation war began. Many liberation wars are known in world history, but the uniqueness of the Turkish struggle was that it was conducted under the leadership of parliament and resulted in the creation of an independent Turkish Republic. This is a unique historical event demonstrating the people's belief in democracy and becoming an example for other countries in the world.

After the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, the way to creating a new state was open. On the evening of October 28, 1923, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk invited his close friends to dinner in Çankaya and announced to them: "Tomorrow we will proclaim the Republic."

Thus, on October 29, 1923, after Atatürk's meeting with deputies, the prepared proposal about the republic was presented to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and adopted. Atatürk became the first president of the newly formed Turkish Republic, holding this position until 1938.

Now the country is headed by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Justice and Development Party, of which he is the chairman, won parliamentary elections for the first time in 2002, and has been the ruling party of Turkey since then.

Today, Turkey is a member of many international organizations, including NATO. Ankara plays an important role in strengthening integration among Turkic states. This is especially evident in the activities of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).