Victory Day celebrations started with an official ceremony in the Ankara, where top politicians and military commanders accompanied.
The official ceremony in Ankara came about at Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek acted for President Abdullah Gül, who could not assist the ceremony due to an ear problem.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel, Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç, deputy prime ministers Bülent Arınç, Beşir Atalay and Bekir Bozdağ, National Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli also attended to the ceremony.
Çiçek left a wreath on Atatürk’s Mausoleum and the group observed a minute of silence subsequently, which was abided by by the recitation of the İstiklal Marşı, the Turkish national anthem.
Çiçek later signed the Anitkabir Special Register and wrote: “We are trying our best to keep Turkey among modern civilizations. Our nation is striving to achieve its goals. Those who want to stir up chaos among our people will be defeated.”
Meanwhile Abdullah Gül, who is presently getting treatment in an Ankara hospital, posted a message on twitter telling that “Although I would have liked to very much, I couldn’t attend the ceremony as per doctor recommendation.”
Victory Day is celebrated every year on Aug. 30 to mark a military victory in the final battle of Turkey’s Independence War in 1922.
