By Xinhua,
Ankara : Turkey is celebrating its Youth and Sports Festival, anniversary of the beginning of War of Independence, local newspaper Today’s Zaman reported on Monday.
Eighty-nine years ago, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, landed in Samsun on May 19 to launch the national independence struggle against invading European powers.
The celebration began with a ceremony with gun salutes to mark the hour of Ataturk’s arrival in Samsun and will continue through the day nationwide.
President Abdullah Gul released a message to mark the occasion, saying “we are celebrating with joy and pride the May 19 Youth and Sports Festival.”
Turkey had become a strong and respected country with its democratic and secular regime based on human rights, its dynamic population and more importantly its administration that had managed to combine the institutions of the state with the nation, he said.
Stressing that May 19 symbolized Turkey’s ability to find a way out of even the worst situations, Gul said Turkey was closer than ever before to reaching the ideal of contemporary civilization as laid out by Ataturk.
“As our democratic regime based on human rights, our approach that encourages an open society and our approach to governing with the individual at the center develops, Turkey will grow even stronger.”
He also appealed to the country’s youth to open up to the world as the people of a country negotiating for EU membership.