71st anniversary of Atatürk’s death commemorated

The mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, also known as Anıtkabir, in Ankara will be decorated with 40,000 flowers to mark the 71st anniversary of his death. Some 200 florists from all over Turkey are participating in organizing the ceremony.

The anniversary will be commemorated in solemn ceremonies across the country Tuesday.

The florists will prepare a huge Turkish flag with an Atatürk portrait made up of red and white carnations around the mausoleum, including Lion Road. The mausoleum inside Anıtkabir will be decorated with fresh flowers as well. 

Specially grown flowers from Antalya, İzmir and Yalova as well as poinsettia, also known as the Atatürk flower, will be used in the project jointly coordinated with the Ankara Chamber of Florists and the Interflora Florists Association and carried out with the permission of the General Staff.

The first official ceremony Tuesday will be held in Anıtkabir. Top state officials will attend the ceremony led by President Abdullah Gül, who will lay a wreath on the tomb at 9:05 a.m., the time Atatürk passed away.

Flags across the country will be lowered to half-mast between 9:05 a.m. and sundown. All civil defense sirens will be on for two minutes at 9:05 a.m.

Political leaders also issued written statements to mark the day. In his written statement, the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli said preserving nationalist values has recently become more important at a time when systematic efforts to harm the values of the Republic and its founder, Atatürk, are intensifying. 

“Atatürk served his country as a great leader, politician and commander,” Bahçeli said, adding that those who dare destroy the values of the Republic owe Atatürk a lot.  

The Grand Unity Party, or BBP, leader Yalçın Topçu said Turkey lacks determination and leadership qualities demonstrated by Atatürk during the Turkish War of Independence, especially today during a time of hardship in the country.

In his message, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ said Atatürk shouldn’t remain in people’s hearts only as a memory. “We perpetuate our leader, who carried our nation into the civilized world of the future in unity and safety, in our hearts not like a memory but as a living reality that directs our thoughts,” Başbuğ said.