President Erdogan opts for low-key celebration of Turkiye’s 100th anniversary as secular republic

ANKARA: Turkiye is marking the 100th anniversary of the creation of the modern, secular republic from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire on Sunday with few pageantries and no gala reception to memorialise the important milestone.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has opted for a low-key celebration of the centennial, which comes months after a devastating earthquake that killed 50,000 people and coincides with the Israeli-Hamas war that has roiled the Middle East.

The subdued affair, however, has caused dismay among many in Turkiye who believe Erdogan’s government is trying to undermine the legacy of the republic’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

They see the lack of pomp and fanfare as an attempt by the government, which finds its roots in Turkiye’s Islamic movement, to erase Ataturk’s memory.

Erdogan on Sunday observed the traditional protocol of laying a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum in the capital and shook hands with a procession of ambassadors and high-level officials offering their congratulations.

In the afternoon, he was scheduled to travel to Istanbul to watch a procession of military ships on the Bosporus, followed by a drones and fireworks show. In his speech marking the occasion, Erdogan was expected to highlight his government’s achievements in the past 20 years.

Earlier this year, Erdogan invited a slew of foreign leaders to celebrate his reelection for a third term as president, but he won’t be hosting a reception to mark the republic’s major milestone. State broadcaster TRT announced it was cancelling special centennial programmes due to the war in Gaza.

Many in Turkiye are holding their own private celebrations or parties in restaurants or homes. Municipalities run by opposition parties are organising concerts and parades. Pop star Tarkan and classical pianist Fazil Say are among artists that have composed marches to mark the centennial.

‘The government did its best to make these celebrations forgotten and to trivialize them,” said Gul Erbil, a 66-year-old retired film director who will be toasting the centennial at a restaurant with friends. “The sad thing is ... it’s (their) republic too. It’s something that gave (them) freedom, too.”

Meral Aksener, the leader of the centre-right opposition IYI Party accused the government of not missing the opportunity to ensure the “100th year (celebration) falls flat”.

“There are those who still have a problem with our republic 100 years later,” Aksener said. She and others believe a mass pro-Palestinian rally on Saturday during which Erdogan escalated his criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza was specially organised to overshadow the centennial celebration.

But Ahmet Hakan, columnist for the pro-government Hurriyet newspaper, says the scaled-back celebration became “inevitable” due to Israel’s actions in Gaza, which have triggered a wave of protests particularly in Muslim-majority countries, in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.

A World War I hero who went on to lead a war of independence against occupying forces, Ataturk proclaimed the Turkish Republic on October 29, 1923. He embarked on a series of radical reforms aimed at turning the majority Muslim nation into a secular, Western-style democracy. He abolished the caliphate, replaced the Arabic script with the Latin alphabet and gave women the right to vote.

Ataturk is still held in high regard in the country where his portraits hang on walls of schools, offices and homes. Traffic comes to a standstill as thousands observe a minute of silence on the anniversary of his death. His signature is tattooed on arms.