APRIL 23 NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND CHILDREN’S DAY
We celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of Turkish Grand National Assembly with great honor and pride.
April 23, 1920; It is the day when Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his heroic arms friends started the resistance against the notorious enemies who tried to shatter the land by telling “Sovereignty rests unconditionally with the nation”. It is an epic day, a turning point, in which the sovereignty of the nation is declared by enduring all attacks and challenges. It is the day when the re-existence in Anatolia is recorded in history.
The opening of Turkish Grand National Assembly; It is the meaning map of the flag and the motherland, it is the symbol of freedom and independence of our supreme nation, it is the declaration to the world that we can never compromise from future and sovereignty.
The Turkish Grand National Assembly is a trust to future generations, which Independence Struggle will not chew until eternity. For this reason, it is very meaningful to present April 23, 1920, which is an important milestone in our history, as national sovereignty and children’s day. As a nation that thinks about the future of their children even in the most troubled days when the country is in danger, today we are in the goal and ideal of leaving a peaceful country and a great Turkey to our children.
Today we will continue to preserve and glorify our brotherhood, integrity and unity in the spirit of April 23, 1920. The fact that our children cannot celebrate April 23 due to coronavirus measures should never make them sad. All our children should know that; The measures taken nowadays are to enable them to have a feast in the future with healthier, happier and even greater enthusiasm. Our children and future generations will continue to celebrate and live the children’s festival as long as the world exists.
We remember with mercy and gratitude the first president of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, his comrades and especially the war of independence cadres, our heroes and veterans who were martyred in the defense of the homeland in every corner of the country. I wish this historical day, which we celebrate as Children’s Day, will bring health, happiness and peace to all children of the world.
Prof. Dr. Aysun Bay Karabulut
Malatya Turgut Özal University Rector.