Eastern Mediterranean University Atatürk Research and Application Center (EMU-ATAUM) Chair Assist. Prof. Turgay Bülent Göktürk issued a statement on the occasion of the 104th anniversary of the 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. Assist.Prof. Dr. Turgay Bülent Göktürk’s statement reads as follows:
"19 May 1919 is the day when the national sovereignity started. It is the day when the first steps towards the foundation of the Republic of Turkey were taken, when the Great Leader Atatürk went from Samsun to Anatolia and started the Action Phase of our National Struggle for Independence. It is the day when a nation showed its determination to exist despite all the poverty.
In his great work, Great Speech, Mustafa Kemal first summarized the sad state of the Ottoman Empire at that time and emphasized his decision on the day he arrived in Samsun on 19 May, 1919.
‘There was only one decision in this situation. And that was to establish a new independent Turkish State based on nation’s sovereignty, unconditionally.
The firm thought and logic on which this decision was based was the following: The basic principle is that the Turkish Nation should live as a nation with character and honor. This can only be achieved by being fully Independent. No matter how rich and prosperous it is; a nation deprived of independence cannot save itself from being a servant against civilized humanity… However, the dignity, self-confidence and abilities of the Turks are very high and great. It is better for such a nation to perish than to live in captivity. So either independence or death ... "
Mustafa Kemal succeeded in the National Struggle for Independence, which he started with this slogan, also an example of the Turkish Cypriot Struggle for Existence, with his nation despite all the difficulties. Following the liberation of the country from the imperialist occupation forces, he realized the revolutions to bring the Turkish Nation to the level of contemporary civilization and founded the Republic of Turkey, which he described as 'My Greatest Work'.
At the end of the Great Speech, in which he described this process, the Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk emphasized that the result reached today is the work of the vigilance created by the national disasters for centuries and the price of the blood that irrigated every corner of this beloved homeland. The Republic has entrusted this result to the Turkish youth. He explained how Turkish youth would protect this trust with his "Address to Youth".
As a result, everyone should be informed that;
19 May in Istanbul is the promise "They will go as they come",
19 May in the Black Sea is the Bandırma Ferry,
19 May in Samsun is the birth of a nation,
19 May in Havza is an anthem sang by Mustafa Kemal;
19 May in Amasya is a declaration of the revolution
19 May in Erzurum is leaving the military service and continuing the national struggle as an ordinary member of the nation.
19 May in Sivas is the motto of "Either Independence or Death", it is Kuvay-ı Milliye.
19 May in Ankara is the Parliament, the symbol of nationak sovereignty.
19 May in Inebolu is Elif's oxcart.
19 May in İnönü, Sakarya, Kocatepe and Dumlupınar is Mehmetçik, Martyr, and Veteran.
19 May in Afyon plain is the order "Armies, your first target is the Mediterranean, Forward!"
19 May in Izmir is a flower that blooms in the mountains.
19 May in Cyprus is the Mujahids in Besparmak Mountains.
In short, 19 May is ATATÜRK ...
I commemorate all martyrs who perished for the sake of making this land a homeland, especially Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades in arms, with feelings of respect and gratitude and wish you all a very happy 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. "
