This week, Turkish Americans across the US are celebrating April 23, Turkish National Sovereignty and Children’s Day. The day marks the inauguration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) on April 23, 1920, proclaimed in 1929 as a Turkish national holiday dedicated to children.
Every year, April 23rd is celebrated in Turkey and Turkish communities abroad with international children’s festivals, in the spirit of world peace and harmony. Turkish Americans are celebrating this day with festivities across the United States over this weekend.
The founding of the Turkish Grand National Assembly was the first step toward the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The TGNA held its first session at a time when almost every corner of the Ottoman Empire was under the occupation of the Entente powers. The occupation of the Aegean coastal town of Izmir by invading Greek armies and the atrocities they committed against the Turkish population as they advanced into Anatolia became the final outrage that sparked the Turkish national resistance movement under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
With the occupation of Istanbul by the British, and the dissolving of the Ottoman Parliament, the need for the Resistance’s representative and legislative body was created. On April 23rd 1920, the Turkish Grand National Assembly was inaugurated with representatives from across occupied Anatolia and Ankara became the center of the Turkish national struggle. On the opening day of the Assembly, Mustafa Kemal was elected as its first president. His opening speech includes clues of what he envisioned this Assembly to achieve. Stating that “there will not be any superior power over the assembly,” he set the stage for the founding of the Republic of Turkey to replace the Ottoman monarchy.
Under Ataturk’s visionary leadership, the Turkish national forces liberated Anatolia from foreign occupation. Their military victory was solidified with the international recognition of Turkey’s borders under the Lausanne International Peace Treaty, paving the way for the creation of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923.
