The 101st anniversary of the meeting held by Atatürk in Izmit, where the foundations of the Republic of Turkey were laid, was celebrated at Kasrı Hümayun Mansion.
On the 101st anniversary of Atatürk's first and only press conference in Izmit, Kocaeli Journalists Association organized a Press Pride Day program at Kasrı Hümayun Mansion. This special day, which has been celebrated as Press Pride Day in our city since 1986; Governor Seddar Yavuz, Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Büyükakın, İzmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, KOGACE President Cemal Kaplan, AK Party Provincial Chairman Şahin Talus, CHP Provincial Chairman Bülent Sarı, MHP Provincial Chairman Murat Nuri Demirbaş, DSP Provincial Chairman Halim Dedeoğlu, BBP Provincial Chairman Coordinator Metehan Küpçü, AK Party İzmit District Chairman Halil Güngör Dokuzlar, Democratic Party Körfez District Chairman Veli Yıldız, AK Party İzmit Mayor candidate Muharrem Tutuş, Journalist Cem EĞİTir, Journalist Seda EĞİTir, Global Journalists Association members from all over Turkey. , NGO presidents and representatives, and journalists attended.
KAPLAN THANKS TO THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED
Participants observed a minute of silence in the program and then sang the National Anthem. Subsequently, the documentary about January 16, the first and only press conference held by Atatürk and prepared for this special day, was watched. KOGACE President Cemal Kaplan made the opening speech and said, “Welcome to our honor day, you have done us an honor. January 16 Press Day has been celebrated with enthusiasm since 1986. I would like to thank Metin Karan, Adem Turgut, Yalçın Arslan and other names who contributed to this day. Thank you very much. If we are celebrating a meaningful day today, it is because they brought it from dusty archives to today. "We are one of the most established societies," he said.
AVCI: WE ARE IN IZMIT FOR A SPECIAL DAY
Continuing his words, President Kaplan said, "Last year, when Tahir President brought the Media House to serve us, he said to take this day to the national level. So we carried Cem Bey, we carried it to the national level. 34 presidents came from various shades of Turkey, and we brought this special day to the national level. "I would also like to thank Ms. Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, who restored our Izmit Museum," he said. Osmaniye Journalists Association President İsrafil Avcı said, “On the same day, January 16, Atatürk will arrive in Osmaniye. But we are in Izmit on the occasion of Pride Day. I believe it should be celebrated throughout Türkiye. I would like to thank our Metropolitan Mayor. They do not spare their support. We are here for today's importance. "Happy Press Pride Day," he said.
HÜRRİYET: IF THE PRESS IS STRONG, WE ARE STRONG TOO
In her speech, Izmit Mayor Fatma Kalan Hürriyet said, “I greet all of you, the valuable representatives of this honorable profession, the valuable press workers, the valuable attendees, with respect and love. We are here to remember the value Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk placed on freedom of the press and the moment when the first seeds of the idea of the Republic were sown. It is a turning point not only for Izmit but also for Türkiye. We must not forget that the freedom of thought expressed by Atatürk in these lands is a real guide for us. The press is the cornerstone of democracy. "The stronger this stone is, the stronger we will be," he said.
'THIS SPECIAL DAY IS NOT IN THE PLACE IT DESERVES'
Continuing her words, Hürriyet said, “This is one of the most important days for us women as well as journalists. It is one of the most important meetings where he heralded the granting of this right to women 11 years before women were given the right to vote. A right heralded many years ago. That's why I call Izmit the city of firsts and good news. We are one of the important cities where good news is announced to the whole world. I think increasing the number of female journalists is important for women's voices to be heard more. Unfortunately, I think this special day did not find the place it deserved. "It has become a larger meeting with the support of many people, but it needs more ownership," he said.
FEATURED DOCUMENTARY GOOD NEWS FROM HÜRRİYET
President Hürriyet continued his words by saying, “We started a good work to spread the January 16 Press Pride Day throughout Turkey. We are making a feature-length documentary for this special day. We are planning to present such an important day to all the masses with a beautiful gala. We plan to finish it at the end of February or early March. We want it to be accepted as a January 16 gift for all press members. "I would like to thank our Association President, our valued guests and everyone who contributed to the organization of this day, and I congratulate the 16th of January Press Pride Day."
BÜYÜKAKIN: IT SHOULD BE CELEBRATED NATIONALLY
Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Büyükakın said, “The way it is celebrated should not be like this in order to increase the awareness that needs to be done. A national award ceremony should be held in honor of Press Pride Day. The evaluation committee must also be a national panel. Of course, this is your job, not our job, you should do the organization entirely. It should not stay local, it should move nationally. Despite losing his mother on January 14, Atatürk attended the meeting here. This also needs to be the subject of a separate study. Life is interesting, some people's birthdays are some people's sad days. January 15 was Nazım's birthday. I commemorate with mercy all our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for this land. We owe gratitude to all our soldiers who are currently on duty. I congratulate January 16 Press Pride Day. Metin Karan has made a lot of effort today. In order to make the day meaningful, we must act by paying attention to those who contributed to this day. "The administration during the period when Metin Bey was president contributed a lot to today's celebration," he said.
YAVUZ: LEADERS DON'T GROW BY ACCIDENT
Governor Seddar Yavuz said, "I congratulate you on the January 16 Press Pride Day, which was organized by the founder of our Republic, Gazi Mustafa Atatürk, in Kasrı Hümayun, where he drew the map for the goals of the Republic of Turkey, and its importance will not be disputed. I also remember with gratitude the journalists who attended the meeting. We are not a nation that entered the stage of history yesterday. We are arguably one of the greatest nations in the world. Great nations do not raise leaders by chance. When needed, it will put forward an approach that will carry out the national struggle and expel the enemy. We are going through a process that many people in Kocaeli have forgotten. "For example, how many people know that the British bombed the cloth factory built by Sultan Abdülmecit on June 18, 1920?" he said.
'WE ARE IMPLEMENTING ATATURK'S GOALS'
Stating that they are here to discuss our tomorrow and future while celebrating Press Pride Day, Yavuz said, “If we see freedoms and rights as an attack on the homeland, if we provide immunity to them under various names, then we should question ourselves. We need to talk about Press Pride Day, the national struggle and how we design tomorrow. Kocaeli is the face of Turkey competing with the world. If you had 20 cities like Kocaeli, any city in Turkey would be no different from rich European cities. This is not a typical industrial city. It is the city of science, industry and technology. If you are not competing in science, industry and technology, your slogans will not satisfy you. If we want to keep our national honor and pride alive, we must run on the path of reason, science and technology shown by Ataturk. "We are an important city that knows and implements this understanding," he said.
PLAQUE TO CEM ÖĞRETIR: GLAD I'M HERE
Continuing his words, Governor Seddar Yavuz said, “We see that Israel committed an atrocity in Gaza and how the world remained silent about it. If we don't want to fall into this situation, we will be strong. None of us will alienate each other. We will be one wrist, one heart. I think our ancestors' souls would find peace only in this way. "I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the celebration of this special day," he said. Subsequently, a plaque was presented to the guest of honor, Presenter Cem EĞİTir. In his short speech, EĞİTİR said, “When I started this profession, I had hair. I am someone who explains how difficult this profession is. We strive to do this profession with the awareness that a single sentence can move mountains. I am very happy that you hosted me here on such a beautiful day. "I thank you for reminding me once again how important the press is for democracy," he said.
