Turkey marked the anniversary of a decisive battle in the War of Independence on Wednesday. Turkish government banned some commemoration ceremonies again under the pretext of "provocative attempts".
Victory Day, which commemorates the Battle of Dumlupınar in 1922 against colonial powers, saw President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, senior officials and high-ranking military staff lay a wreath at Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
During an address in Anıtkabir, Erdoğan said that the historic victory was the final string in a struggle to make Anatolia a homeland, beginning with the Battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt) in 1071, which was commemorated on August 26.
The Battle of Malazgirt, also known as Battle of Manzikert, of Aug. 26, 1071 saw Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Alparslan defeat a Byzantine army and open up Anatolia for Turkish - Islam domination.
Erdoğan had said he rejected any view of Turkish history that only began in 1919, the year of the start of the War of Independence that would culminate in the founding of the post-Ottoman the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
In his message in the memorial book, Erdoğan referred to last year's failed military coup attempt.
"The legendary resistance waged on the night of July 15 was a manifestation of our country's determination to eliminate all threats against its economic and political independence. We will continue to protect and strengthen our homeland, which your greatness and our glorious martyrs entrusted to us, at the risk of our lives," he noted.
Erdoğan had said the night of July 15 was a "second War of Independence" after the war that led to the creation of the modern Turkish state in the ruins of the Ottoman Empire in 1923.
Following his attendance of the ceremony at Anıtkabir, President Erdoğan hosted a reception at the presidential complex in Ankara.
In the past, the highest official level reception to mark Victory Day was hosted at the General Staff Headquarters instead of the presidential Çankaya Palace. In an amendment to the regulation governing national and official feasts, ceremonies and celebrations passed in May 2012, transferred the responsibility of hosting the Victory Day reception from the Chief of General Staff to the president.
Turkey experienced a revolution in 1923 when people from Anatolia, founded the Republic of Turkey as colonial powers gobbled up former Ottoman territories, abolished the caliphate and its traditions of dress and language, viewed as symbols of stagnation. But Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government has diluted his secular legacy and turned to the Ottoman imperial era for ideas about morality and regional stature.
