SOME STATEMENTS OF ATATÜRK
-Happy is he who says, "I am a Turk".
- As they have come, so they will go.
- One day my mortal body will turn to dust, but the Turkish
Republic will stand forever.
- I have been able to teach many things to this nation, but I haven't
been able to teach how to be lackeys.
- Peace at home, peace in the world.
- I am not ordering you to attack, I am ordering you to die.
- Turkey's true master is the peasant.
- Do not be afraid of telling the truth.
- To see me does not necessarily mean to see my face. To understand
my thoughts is to have seen me.
- The Turkish Republic will be happy, prosperous
and victorious.
- A healthy mind in a healthy body.
- Armies, your first goal is the Mediterranean. Forward !
- Our great ideal is to raise our nation to the highest standard of
civilization and prosperity.
- Culture is the foundation of the Turkish Republic.
- Following the military triumph we accomplished by bayonets, weapons
and blood, we shall strive to win victories in such fields as culture,
scholarship, science and economics.
- Victory is for those who can say "Victory is mine". Success is for
those who can begin saying "I will succeed" and say "I have succeeded"
in the end.
- Sovereignty is not given, it is taken.
- Authority, without any condition and reservation, belongs to the nation.
- Teachers are the one and only people who save nations.
- Teachers: the new generation will be your devotion.
- Our true mentor in life is science.
- The Turkish Nation consists of the valiant descendants of a people
that has lived independently and has considered independence the sole condition
of existence. This nation has never lived without freedom, cannot and never
will.
- We Turks are a people who, throughout our
history, have been the very embodiment of freedom and independence.
- Our nation has succeeded owing to the unshakable unity it has shown
in its actions and endeavors.
MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK'S ADDRESS TO TURKISH YOUTH
Turkish Youth, Your first duty is to preserve and to defend Turkish
Independence and the Turkish Republic forever.
This is the very foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation
is your most precious treasure. In the future, too, there may be malevolent
people at home and abroad, who will wish to deprive you of this treasure.
If some day you are compelled to defend your independence and your Republic,
you must not hesitate to weigh the possibilities and circumstances of the
situation before doing your duty. These possibilities and circumstances
may turn out to be extremely unfavorable. The enemies conspiring against
your independence and your Republic may have behind them a victory unprecedented
in the annals of the world.
It may be that, by violence and trickery, all the fortresses of your
beloved fatherland may be captured, all its shipyards occupied, all its
armies dispersed and every corner of the country invaded. And sadder and
graver than all these circumstances, those who hold power within the country
may be in error, misguided and may even be traitors. Furthermore, they
may identify personal interests with the political designs of the invaders.
The country may be impoverished, ruined and exhausted. Youth of Turkey's
future, even in such circumstances it is your duty to save Turkish
Independence and the Republic. You will find the strength you need
in your noble blood.
Ankara, 20th October 1927
MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK'S SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE REPUBLIC
Turkish Nation,
It is now fifteen years since the War of Liberation
commenced. Today is the day of celebration of the tenth anniversary of
our Republic.
Congratulations.
At this moment, as a member of the great Turkish Nation, I am very
happy and excited that I have lived to see this great day.
My fellow countrymen,
We have accomplished great things in a short period of time. The greatest
of these is the Turkish Republic, which is based
on Turkish heroism and on our great Turkish culture. We owe this success
to the determined forward march of the Turkish nation, together with her
worthy army. We never think that what we have done is enough. We are determined
and obliged to accomplish more and greater things. We are going to advance
our country to the level of the most prosperous and the most civilized
countries of the world. We shall make it possible for our nation to acquire
the necessary resources and means for her to live in nation-wide prosperity.
We shall attempt to raise our national culture above the level of contemporary
civilization. Therefore, we think and shall continue to think not according
to the lethargic mentality of past centuries, but according to the concepts
of speed and action of our century. We shall work harder than in the past.
We shall accomplish greater things in a shorter time. We have no doubt
that we shall succeed in them as well; because the character of the Turkish
nation is worthy and noble, the Turkish nation is industrious and the Turkish
nation is intelligent.
Because the Turkish nation has been successful in overcoming hardships
through national unity and togetherness. And because the torch the Turkish
nation holds in her hand and in her mind, while marching on the road of
progress and civilization, is positive science.
I would like to point out with special emphasis that one of the historical
characteristics of the Turkish nation, which is a society composed of worthy
people, is to appreciate the fine arts and to advance in them as well.
Therefore, it is our national ideal to support and to develop the worthy
and noble character of the Turkish nation, her industrious quality, her
intelligence, her dedication to science, her love of fine arts,
and her feeling of national unity always and with every available means
and measure. This aim, which is one very suited to the Turkish nation,
will make her successful in fulfilling her obligation to cultivate real
peace in the entire world.
Great Turkish Nation,
During the last fifteen years, I have made many promises to you to
be successful in our undertakings. I am pleased that I have not failed
my nation in any of them and given you cause to doubt me. Today, I speak
with the same faith and assurance that, within a short period of time,
the whole civilized world will once again recognize that the Turkish nation,
moving unified toward the national ideal, is a great nation. I do not doubt
that the long buried characteristics and abilities of the Turks
will, as they progress, shine like a new sun on the horizon of the great
civilization of the future.
Turkish Nation,
In every decade which passes into eternity, I wholeheartedly wish that
you celebrate this great national holiday with ever greater honor, happiness,
peace and tranquility. Happy is he who says "I am a Turk".
Ankara 29th October 1933