A nation's test of character
HERE'S THE REPUBLIC'S CHARACTER
The Republic is a character where resistance turns into will. April 23rd is the day this character turns into sovereignty.
In recent years, the language of politics has become thinner and sharper. The number of words is decreasing, the implication is increasing. Some sentences are used not only as a criticism but also as a cover for insult: “We know what they are like.”
Well... Then let's open that word and put it in front of history.
What is a genealogy? Is it lineage, origin or the decision made in a difficult time? Because in these lands, “dignity” is written not by genealogy, but by the attitude taken in times of crisis.
1919... An empire had disintegrated, the capital was occupied and the army demobilized. The state was silent; the nation was not. This is how the Kuvayı Milliye was born. Neither by law nor by order; like a reflex, like an explosion of character. It was here that the first line of the nationality was written.
Then a steamer sailed across the Black Sea: Bandırma Ferry. This was not just a journey; it was a movement of will against fear, of resistance against surrender. That will turned into the following sentence with the Amasya Declaration: “The independence of the nation will be saved by the determination and resolve of the nation.” This was a challenge that changed the address of sovereignty.
With the Erzurum and Sivas congresses, the fragmented will was united. The issue was no longer defense, but sovereignty. This understanding was institutionalized with the Anatolian and Rumelian Society of Mudafaa-i Hukuk, and carried on with the Delegation of Representatives.
There was no palace or splendor in Ankara, but there was decision. On April 23, 1920, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was opened. On that day, not only a parliament was established; a nation said ’I am no longer a subject“.
The question today is simple: What is dignity? Is it to remain silent in the face of occupation or to stand up in the face of impossibility? To seek a mandate, or to be able to say “sovereignty belongs to the nation unconditionally”?
Today, some people try to belittle it by calling it “character”. However, this Republic is not the product of an ideology, but of a character. This character is a continuity from the Society for the Defense of Law for Anatolia and Rumelia to the People's Party and from there to the Republican People's Party. This is not a matter of party, but a matter of will.
Those who question the dignity of the Republic speak on the ground established by that dignity. In parliament, in the press, in the square... What they criticize is the very ground that gives them the right to speak.
“If you are looking for ”dignity", it is in the peasant who resisted under occupation, in the nameless soldier who rushed to the front, in the will that opened the parliament in Ankara. The name of that dignity is the Republic.
“To those who say, ”We know what they are like": So do we. The difference between those who make history and those who watch history.
We have a word for those who define themselves as “republicans” by hiding behind this glorious dignity: This legacy is carried not by name, but by stance. This history was written not with rhetoric, but at a price. Just so you know, History does not give honor to anyone on trust. Those who do not deserve it will sooner or later end up in their own garbage.
For 106 years, we have been celebrating April 23rd as Sovereignty Day with the same will, the same character and the same feeling.
Happy April 23rd National Sovereignty and Children's Day!