News

MAYOR MANDALİNCİ’S MESSAGE ON 10 NOVEMBER ATATÜRK MEMORIAL DAY

09.11.2025

Mayor Mandalinci: “The Republic is not a relic of the past, it is a pledge to the future.”

Mayor Tamer Mandalinci issued a message to mark the 87th anniversary of the passing of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye.

“We are the heirs of a leader who, with faith and reason as his compass, inscribed the seal of independence on the brightest page of our history.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was not only the saviour of a nation, but also the very embodiment of intellect, courage and freedom. He was the mind that transformed a people once subdued into a proud and sovereign nation. Under his leadership, the victories achieved were not merely military triumphs, they marked the awakening of a new consciousness. Through those victories, the Turkish nation rebuilt its independence, identity and future.

Every freedom we breathe today is the result of his foresight and determination. Atatürk did not only build a country; he founded an idea, the vision of living in a free and equal society guided by reason and science. We are the guardians of that vision today.

The Republic of Türkiye, founded under his leadership, signifies the closing of one era and the dawn of another. Through revolutions that reached from education to law, from art to science, the foundations of modern civilisation were laid. Equality for women, youth, and all citizens was enshrined. The ideals that continue to illuminate our path are a torch that must be embraced anew by every generation.

The Republic is not merely a legacy, it is a trust that must be earned every single day. As we carry this trust forward, we neither reduce the past to nostalgia nor abandon the future to uncertainty. For Atatürk’s path is not a memory; it is a direction. That direction reminds us not only of past heroism but also of our responsibilities today.

Thus, protecting the Republic — which Atatürk called his ‘greatest work’ — is not only a debt to history but also the highest expression of loyalty to the future. We must walk this path with his words engraved in our hearts: ‘Freedom and independence are my character.’ The honour, justice, and modern ideals of our nation rest upon each of our shoulders, not only upon institutions, but upon every citizen individually.

With this belief, I commemorate our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, his comrades-in-arms, and all our heroes with gratitude and respect. We pledge to carry the Republic — his eternal legacy — forward with reason, courage, and heart. Atatürk’s legacy remains a light that will never fade from the heart of our nation. As long as we walk beneath that light, the Republic of Türkiye will live forever.”