Turkey celebrates 100th anniversary of republic with fireworks and navy procession
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leads low-key celebrations of republic’s founding
- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk proclaimed the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923
Turkey’s government marked the 100th anniversary of the creation of the modern, secular republic from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire on Sunday with a firework and drone show in Istanbul as well as a procession of 100 hundred navy ships but little else in the way of pageantry.
The rather muted celebration of the centennial, which included no gala reception, came months after a devastating earthquake that killed 50,000 people and coincided with the Israeli-Hamas war that has roiled the Middle East.
The low-key celebrations caused dismay among many in Turkey who believe Erdogan’s government, which finds its roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement, is trying to undermine the legacy of the secular republic’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Erdogan on Sunday observed the traditional protocol of laying a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum in the capital and shook hands with a procession of ambassadors and high-level officials offering their congratulations before travelling to Istanbul to watch the navy ships’ procession.
The Turkish leader later delivered a speech at 19.23pm in honour of the year the republic was proclaimed. He expressed his gratitude to Ataturk and others who helped create the republic but also highlighted his own achievements during his 20-year rule.