Keçiören Municipality organized a commemoration program with Quran recitation in Keçiören Kirkuk Park on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Iraqi Turkmen leaders on January 16, 1980. The participants, who left wreaths and carnations at the Turkmen Martyrs Monument, attended the commemoration program at the Necip Fazıl Kısakürek Theater Hall in the district.
Chief Advisor to the President Yalçın Topçu, Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok, Turkish Cultural Organization (TÜRKSOY) Secretary General Sultan Raev, Iraqi Turkmen Front Turkey Representative Mehmet Kutluhan Yalçılı, Iraqi Turkmeneli Cooperation and Culture Foundation President Turhan Kertene was attended by Turks living in Turkey, representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations.
In the commemoration program, which continued with the singing of the Turkish National Anthem and the Turkmeneli National Anthem, a video about those who were martyred in Kirkuk was screened. At the event where laments were read, the theater play 'History Father' was performed by the Istanbul Theater Team.
“WE WILL ENSURE UNITY IN LANGUAGE, HERE, AND OPINION”
Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok, who hosted the program and addressed the participants, gave a message of unity and brotherhood and said:
“Kirkuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Tal Afar are Turkish. These lands are our lands. Do not think that only Turkmeneli's heart was burned. Colonel Abdullah Abdurrahman, Dr. Necdet Kocak, Dr. Our livers burned here for Rıza Demirci and Adil Şerif. Those who burn that day will pay the price in the next day. Our State of the Republic of Turkey is seeking the rights of its brother and will continue to seek it. We have a State of the Republic of Turkey that will take its account one day. I hope we will support our President for another five years. These five years will be one in which we will see the balances in the world change. We will use our minds, not our emotions. Therefore, in unity and solidarity, as İsmail Gaspıralı said, we will ensure 'unity in language, work and opinion'. The unity and solidarity of all fraternal states will be an insurance for their freedom and sovereignty. We have brothers from Turkmeneli and I always say to them; You will return to your lands, if you have population, you have power. You have as much voice and power as you have in the Baghdad Parliament. We will not leave Turkmeneli empty without succumbing to persecution. 'It is said that cowards die every day, braves die one day'; but the valiant don't die, they stay forever. We are a nation that willingly goes to death for the sake of the country, for the state, for the country. History is written by the brave and valiant in Turkmeneli. We commemorate all our martyrs with mercy and gratitude.”
“TURKS DID NOT REVOLVED”
Chief Advisor to the President Yalçın Topçu stated that the Turkmen leaders were martyrs for the homeland and that the Turkmen youth should protect their lands in order to be worthy of them:
“Greetings to all Turkmen. Iraqi Turkmens have suffered great injustice in many periods of history. We were troubled by the persecutions there when we were young. There were great atrocities on the Turkmeneli front in 1975, 1976 and 1977. Kirkuk is Turkish, it will remain Turkish. Despite all these massacres, the Turks did not resort to revolt. It comes from the Turkish nobility. On January 16, 1980, there was a pathological leader at the head of Iraq. They martyred the four leaders of the Turkmen simply because they were Turks. One is the most important soldier of the Iraqi army, one is an academician, one is a merchant. As a result, our martyrs were executed by a sick soul and his regime. They should be role models for every Turkish youth. These deaths should make us bigger, these deaths should reinforce our unity and solidarity. If we come together, we will be big and alive. By Allah's leave, no one can touch our life, property or land. May the ranks of our martyrs be high and their places be heaven. May God have mercy on them. When we meet tomorrow in the hereafter, let us be worthy of them so that they will intercede for us.”
The commemoration program ended with the presentation of a plaque.
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