Following is the message President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued on May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day:
“My august nation,
Treasured youth, the hope of our future and assurance of our bright tomorrows…
I congratulate you with my sincerest feelings on May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.
May 19, gifted to the Turkish youth by Ghazi Mustafa Kemal, was the date when our nation’s love for resolution and independence was proclaimed to the world and when the spirit of resistance inside ourselves was revived.
The Turkish nation stood up to the imperialist occupying forces with the spirit of unity and solidarity on May 19, 1919, displayed legendary gallantry by putting up an all-out struggle for the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye, and achieved a blessed victory in the end.
And today we walk to the future with the strength and spirit of independence we have drawn from our history, and put up a fierce fight against those seeking to prevent Türkiye’s development and growth.
While constantly keeping alive our enthusiasm for building the great and strong Türkiye, we support in every area our youth that we see as our most important means to that end, and offer them opportunities.
Obviously, as our country further develops, more means and opportunities will be available for our youth.
We work with all our strength for our youth who have national consciousness and character, and trust in the Turkish youth’s potential.
The vision and effort displayed by the Turkish youth in the face of national, regional and global developments conduce to the revival of our hopes for the future of our country.
We are proud to see our youth at the foremost of every area, from education to sports, security to politics, and trade to the arts.
We will continue to march with our youth in order to achieve our country’s goals for 2023 and vision for 2053.
With these thoughts in mind, I once again congratulate all on May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, and commemorate with respect all the heroes of our War of Independence, first and foremost Ghazi Mustafa Kemal.”