People watching the ceremonies in front of the old parliament building. (Photos: AA)
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and senior officials visited Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, marking the 100th anniversary of the country's Victory Day.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, senior government and high-ranking military officials, and opposition leaders laid a wreath at Anıtkabir. A minute of silence was followed by the National Anthem.
Erdoğan and government officials at Anıtkabir.
"Dear Atatürk, on the 100th anniversary of the Great Victory, which is one of the most important turning points in our glorious history, we commemorate with mercy your comrades-in-arms, distinguished members of the Grand National Assembly, and our saintly martyrs," Erdoğan wrote on the memorial book at Anıtkabir.
"Our gratitude to our soldiers who fell to the ground for this country will not end not 100, but even 1,000 years pass. Happy 100th anniversary of our August 30 Victory," the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said on Twitter, releasing a video about the Great Offensive.
Aradan 100 değil, 1000 yıl geçse de bu vatan uğruna toprağa düşmüş askerimize minnetimiz tükenmez. 30 Ağustos Zaferimizin 100'üncü yılı kutlu olsun. pic.twitter.com/iZwCF2qbcB
— CHP ???????? (@herkesicinCHP) August 29, 2022
NATO also marked Türkiye's Victory Day with a brief statement on Twitter.
"Today is the 100th Anniversary of Turkish Independence. We join our Turkish allies across NATO& beyond in celebration of their Victory and Turkish Armed Forces Day," NATO Allied Land Command said.
The Great Offensive
Türkiye was occupied by allied forces after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War (1914-1918).
The foreign occupation prompted Türkiye's War of Independence in 1919, in which the independence forces, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk eventually won the war.
From August 26 to August 30 of 1922, Turkish forces fought the Battle of Dumlupinar in Türkiye's western Kütahya province in what is known as the Great Offensive, where Greece was decisively defeated.
By the end of 1922, all foreign forces had left the territories which would collectively become the new Republic of Türkiye one year later. (VK)