29th October, 1923

**LeftEyeNine** · 10-28-2011, 22:58

Although the annual official parades have been cancelled due to the recent onslaught of disastrous events such as 27 of our soldiers getting killed by PKK and the earthquahe of Van respectively,

Although our sports leagues are still running, although we are watching ugly USA-export entertainment shows and arabesque series 24/7, although we are drinking ourselves to death, enjoying our music turned up to deafen our ears,

my their government chose "mourn" by sacrificing your memory,

Long live the Republic of Turkey in its 88th year,

Long live Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's dearest heritage -How beautiful and young you still look despite the swamp you've been going through.

Long live 29th of October which has no government, but still a folk to commemorate and celebrate against all odds.

**Greyblades** · 10-29-2011, 07:22

Uh... happy birthday Turkey?

**Fisherking** · 10-29-2011, 09:04

Long live the Republic!

**Gregoshi** · 10-29-2011, 14:01

As long as people like you remember LEN.

Happy 88th!

**Brenus** · 10-29-2011, 18:10

Long live the Laic Republic of Turkey...

**Noncommunist** · 10-29-2011, 21:52

Happy Birthday!

**LeftEyeNine** · 10-29-2011, 22:11

As the government "mourned" by cancelling 88th anniversary parades that were held even the year Atatürk had passed away and in 1999 earthquake that took no less than 10.000 people's lives, our ~~Stalin-wannabe~~ prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his "comrades" attended 3 weddings in Ankara. "Entertainment", huh ?

Long live Turkish Republic. And thank you all.

**Beskar** · 10-29-2011, 22:29

I have to admit, I like how after the First World War the Turkish people were aghast at their Ottoman overlords and decided to retake their country for themselves and establish the republic.

**Fisherking** · 10-30-2011, 09:16

Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine

As the government "mourned" by cancelling 88th anniversary parades that were held even the year Atatürk had passed away and in 1999 earthquake that took no less than 10.000 people's lives, our ~~Stalin-wannabe~~ prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his "comrades" attended 3 weddings in Ankara. "Entertainment", huh ?

Long live Turkish Republic. And thank you all.

Of what benefit was it for them to cancel the events?

Obviously they thought it was of political advantage, but in what way?

**LeftEyeNine** · 10-30-2011, 13:03

AKP (single-handedly ruling party for the last 9 years (3 elections)) consists of an Islamist base who were always in a conflict with the concept of the modernized, Westernized, un-shariahed, secular Republic of Turkey.

While the highly influential cadre (senior judiciary instruments, the army etc.) was devoted to M. Kemal's heritage -maybe too strictly at times-, the transformation of the nation was incomplete, neglected or inefficient. So the folk was still feeling like the descendants of the religiously oriented nation of Ottomans, shariah, sheikhs, imams, creeds being their ordinary elements of their social structure.

Such clash inevitably created its neo-Ottoman politicians who are longing for an Islamist state -they have quite common feats compared to neoCons I'd suggest.

And now that AKP has disbanded the judiciary elements, the secular army officials, changing the Constitution that allowed them more space along with whole lot of laws and KHKs (decree laws bypassing the parliamentary negotiations), having risen their votes from 34.28% (2002) to 46.47% (2007) and to 49.95% (2011) respectively, they feel they possess the absolute power to carve, bend, demolish and mold and found as they please.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (RTE) has a well known political slogan that dictates his party's projects aiming at 2023 -the 100th anniversary of the Republic- which stinks of "in its 100 year, it's no longer an Atatürk state, but rather mine -Islamist, agressive and capitalist".

Our prisons are full of political detainees who are civilians, senior to junior military officials, journalists, writers. Yeah, we never had the best grade report when it came to political imprisonments but this country had never seen this much.

In a country where the head officials of the state from the president to the prime minister as well as other ministers claim such detainees "being journalists, writers, civilians not necessarily mean that they can not be terrorists", things are going terribly wrong.

In 5 years at maximum, I'm expecting books being collected and burnt by mobs in the streets. Does it resemble anything ?

**TheLastDays** · 10-30-2011, 16:51

Happry birthday, Turkey. Get well soon

**Sarmatian** · 10-31-2011, 08:07

Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine

AKP (single-handedly ruling party for the last 9 years (3 elections)) consists of an Islamist base who were always in a conflict with the concept of the modernized, Westernized, un-shariahed, secular Republic of Turkey.

While the highly influential cadre (senior judiciary instruments, the army etc.) was devoted to M. Kemal's heritage -maybe too strictly at times-, the transformation of the nation was incomplete, neglected or inefficient. So the folk was still feeling like the descendants of the religiously oriented nation of Ottomans, shariah, sheikhs, imams, creeds being their ordinary elements of their social structure.

Such clash inevitably created its neo-Ottoman politicians who are longing for an Islamist state -they have quite common feats compared to neoCons I'd suggest.

And now that AKP has disbanded the judiciary elements, the secular army officials, changing the Constitution that allowed them more space along with whole lot of laws and KHKs (decree laws bypassing the parliamentary negotiations), having risen their votes from 34.28% (2002) to 46.47% (2007) and to 49.95% (2011) respectively, they feel they possess the absolute power to carve, bend, demolish and mold and found as they please.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (RTE) has a well known political slogan that dictates his party's projects aiming at 2023 -the 100th anniversary of the Republic- which stinks of "in its 100 year, it's no longer an Atatürk state, but rather mine -Islamist, agressive and capitalist".

Our prisons are full of political detainees who are civilians, senior to junior military officials, journalists, writers. Yeah, we never had the best grade report when it came to political imprisonments but this country had never seen this much.

In a country where the head officials of the state from the president to the prime minister as well as other ministers claim such detainees "being journalists, writers, civilians not necessarily mean that they can not be terrorists", things are going terribly wrong.

In 5 years at maximum, I'm expecting books being collected and burnt by mobs in the streets. Does it resemble anything ?

Ouch, I didn't know this.

I still have confidence that Turks, both civilians and the army, won't let it happen. It would be such a shame.

Anyway, happy birthday to secular Republic of Turkey.