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THTM Marches to First Assembly for Republic on April 23: 'We Will All Be Citizens'
🇹🇷 Turkey /Elections & Politics

THTM Marches to First Assembly for Republic on April 23: 'We Will All Be Citizens'

From Cumhuriyet · (9m ago) Turkish Critical tone

Translated from Turkish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Turkey People's Representatives Assembly (THTM) marched from Gençlik Park to the First Assembly building to commemorate the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day.
  • Participants demanded a secular country, opposed to religious orders and sultanate-like rule, emphasizing the importance of citizenship and freedom.
  • THTM called for continued struggle for the Republic, with the next phase planned for May 1st in Ankara, highlighting the need to fight against corporate and religious influence.

On the occasion of April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day, the Turkey People's Representatives Assembly (THTM) organized a march to the First Assembly building, the very site where the Turkish War of Independence was directed. This symbolic act underscores a deep commitment to the founding principles of the Republic and a fervent call to action against what they perceive as a regression towards outdated ideologies.

We will not be disciple-master; we will all be citizens; we will live with dignity and pride in our own land as free people, and we will walk confidently into the future.

— Berkay Kemal ÖnoğluTHTM General Executive Board Member Berkay Kemal Önoğlu speaking at the First Assembly building, emphasizing the importance of citizenship and freedom.

The THTM's message is clear: the Republic, founded on secularism and national sovereignty, is under threat. Their slogans, 'We will establish a secular country,' 'We will establish an enlightened country,' and 'They will leave as they came,' echo the spirit of the War of Independence. The marchers explicitly rejected the notion of a return to a 'dark Middle Ages,' emphasizing that the sacrifices of the past were not for children to perish in religious dormitories or for the nation's wealth to be concentrated in the hands of corporations and religious orders.

We did not win those victories for our children to die in sect dormitories 100 years later.

— Berkay Kemal ÖnoğluTHTM General Executive Board Member Berkay Kemal Önoğlu criticizing the current state of affairs regarding children and religious orders.

Speakers like Berkay Kemal Önoğlu articulated a powerful vision: 'We will not be disciple-master; we will all be citizens.' This highlights a core tenet of the Republic – equality and dignity for all citizens, free from the hierarchical structures of religious orders or the vestiges of a sultanate. The THTM's call to action, extending to a May 1st gathering, signals a determination to actively defend and reclaim the Republic's secular and democratic ideals, viewing the current moment as a critical juncture requiring renewed struggle.

We are falling behind, that's why we are calling for struggle. April 23rd has become one of the most important days of struggle from which we draw our inspiration.

— Berkay Kemal ÖnoğluTHTM General Executive Board Member Berkay Kemal Önoğlu explaining the significance of April 23rd as a day of struggle.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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