2023-10-21 10:57:52
Two years later, in October 1925, Fahrettin Altay Pasha was Atatürk’s guest in Çankaya.
There is a question that always occupies your mind. ‘I wonder why Mustafa Kemal Atatürk declared the Republic on October 29? Why not October 27 or November 1?’
He goes to Atatürk after dinner at Çankaya Mansion. “My Pasha caught my attention. Is it a coincidence that the declaration of our Republic coincided with the night of October 29?
“It could have happened three days ago or five days later,” he says. Thereupon, Atatürk said: “You remember the first days of the armistice. The palace and the government accepted the surrender. The government was under the control of the palace, and the palace was under the control of the Allied Powers. The palace was happy with this situation. But I couldn’t accept this.
By resisting this, I considered myself responsible for providing a way out and taking action against those who wanted to erase and eliminate this oppressed nation from the stage of history. We were alone in the world, but those who were with me also adhered to the ideal I believed in, and the result was achieved.
The armistice was signed on October 30, 1918. The homeland was torn apart and invaded. So, how many years passed from October 30, 1918 to September 9, 1922, the date we entered Izmir? Four years. We declared the Republic on October 29, 1923. The great revolution that we have squeezed into five years has been affected by the conditions we live in. Which nation’s history has it in its history? This oppressed nation has reached its rightful place, this is the greatest reward for the pain and troubles we have endured. The whole world has seen this. There is still more to see.
The event that makes me the happiest is that this oppressed nation has come to the place it deserves. You know the torment I suffered in the days after October 30, 1918. You were with me. Mudros is October 30th. Republic 29 October. This is the curse of an oppressed nation. “I think the states at that time understood this.” Ataturk stops for a moment, puts his hand on the table and says: “Say, this is the revenge of a nation that is wanted to be erased from history…” Fahrettin Altay “But, Pasha, you never mentioned this.” Ataturk replies: “It would be bragging, bragging is for the sake of those who believe in ideals, the nation, the army, along with me.” The special reason why Atatürk chose October 29 for the declaration of the republic can be understood from these sentences.
Atatürk did not want to answer the question of how many years his nation, which had surrendered in every sense with the Armistice of Mudros signed on October 30, 1918 and, in his own words, remained in captivity, as 5 years. For this reason, he wanted to make a statement final by declaring the republic after 4 years and 364 days. He wanted to take revenge, in a sense, by declaring the republic one day before the captivity.
Since it was very difficult for him to say that the Turkish nation had been in captivity for 5 years, he wanted the republic to be declared one day before October 30, so that he could say that the Turkish nation had been in captivity for 4 years. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said to the proud and victorious western states, ‘I do not recognize October 30! I’m one day ahead of you.
You will know October 29th!’ he said. Everyone should know why it is October 29th.. Quote.
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