President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a message on March 12 Day of the Adoption of Turkish National Anthem and Commemoration of Mehmet Akif Ersoy.
Stating that the National Anthem that depicts the nation’s heroism, resoluteness, determination and faith in its struggle for independence and future has been the source of courage and motivation for the nation in the most difficult days and also one of its most precious common values, President Erdoğan pointed out that the National Anthem had been written in a period of the sacred nation’s fight against the occupation of every inch of its homeland, and that it was the symbol of future and the genuine declaration of independence.
Erdoğan underlined that the National Anthem, which had been the symbol of the love of country and flag and inherited from National Poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy, was a legend that summarized the nation's characteristics, national and moral values and ideals in the briefest way possible and also comprehensive enough to provide national consensus required by everyone today, and added the following remarks:
“I believe that our sacred nation, which has always challenged the threats against its independence and homeland throughout its history without making concessions to its unity and solidarity, will always embrace our values manifested by Akif’s National Anthem and preserve our National Anthem, that is, our common voice and common conscience. On the 99th anniversary of the adoption of our National Anthem, I commemorate with mercy and gratitude all the heroes of our fight for independence, especially Mehmet Akif Ersoy, and salute all my citizens with my sincerest feelings.”