Mustafa Kemal Atatürk commemorated at CIU with ceremonies

Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was commemorated with respect on the 82nd anniversary of his death, via ceremonies held at the Cyprus International University (CIU).

The first ceremony held in front of the CIU Ataturk Monument with the participation of a limited number of academicians and students in masks due to the Covid-19 outbreak, began with Rector Prof. Dr. Halil Nadiri laying a wreath at the monument. CIU Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature student Eda Sera Yılmaz, made a speech on the life and revolutions of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk after a moment of silence and the reading of the Turkish National Anthem at 09.05.

In the second ceremony held at the CIU Çevik Uraz Conference Hall, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hasan Samani made a speech on "Atatürk's Military and Political Character". Stating that the best approach to be done on such a day is to explain Atatürk's military and political personality, especially his revolutionary character, he gave information about the political environment in which Mustafa Kemal was raised as a soldier

Emphasizing that Mustafa Kemal had superior qualities as a soldier and that he had shown this both during World War I and during the War of Independence, combining his military abilities with his political leadership, Samani pointed out that Mustafa Kemal was the greatest power that lead to the winning of the Anatolian Resistance Movement and the war of independence.

During his speech, discussing in length Atatürk's revolutionary character, Samani explained that during the process of constructing modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal aimed to establish a largely secular state and a contemporary society, with his political, social and cultural revolutions.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Samani pointed to Atatürk's principles during his statement, especially the principle of secularism seen as the foundation of the Republic of Turkey today, and also pointed to the importance of how secularism should continue to be a guide for the new generation.