The 3rd Traditional “Great Offensive” Büyük Taarruz)Afyonkarahisar Meeting organized by the Cagdas Yasami Destekleme Dernegi (ÇYDD) to keep the spirit of national struggle alive was held with the participation of over 200 young people from 35 ÇYDD branch

The 3rd Traditional “Great Offensive”  Büyük Taarruz)Afyonkarahisar Meeting organized by the Cagdas Yasami Destekleme Dernegi (ÇYDD) to keep the spirit of national struggle alive was held with the participation of over 200 young people from 35 ÇYDD branches.

The meeting was organized under the leadership of the Contemporary Youth Central Unit and the ÇYDD Afyonkarahisar Branch, with the contributions of the ÇYDD Headquarters,in memory of the 102nd anniversary of the beginning of the Great Offensive; ÇYDD President Prof. Dr. Ayşe Yüksel, ÇYDD Vice president Lawyer Sedat Durna, General Secretary Gülsen Akbulak,  Board Member Prof. Dr. Filiz Meriçli, Board Member Responsible for the Youth Unit Berfin Kuruş, branch presidents and branch board members, ÇYDD volunteers and members of the Contemporary Youth Center Unit also attended.

The program began with a visit to the Victory Monument commemorating the liberation of Afyonkarahisar from Greek occupation and the Great Offensive. Then, ÇYDD Afyonkarahisar Branch President Serap Yalçın Öztürk gave the opening speech of the program. Öztürk, who paid her respects to the heroes of the national struggle period in her speech, said, “Happy 101st anniversary of our Republic, 102nd anniversary of the Great Offensive and the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief. We respectfully and compassionately remember our Commander-in-Chief Atatürk, his comrades-in-arms, our martyrs and veterans. We have gathered here to show our gratitude and love for our Ataturk, to be united and to be together with our contemporary companions. We are honored to host you for this meeting, and as the Afyonkarahisar Branch of  Cagdas Yasami Destekleme Dernegi and we are excited about this meeting and offer our respect and love.’’

PROF. DR. AYŞE YÜKSEL: ‘’HOW HAPPY WE ARE THAT WE CONTINUE TO KEEP THE REPUBLIC ALIVE DECLARED BY ATATÜRK’’

ÇYDD President Prof. Dr. Ayşe Yüksel also gave a speech in the program in which she touched on the importance of the Great Offensive, one of the most fundamental stones of modern Turkey. In her speech, President Ayşe Yüksel stated that the Great Offensive is one of the greatest heroic epics in our history and said, ‘’I wholeheartedly congratulate everyone who contributed to the realization of our event, each of our young people and the entire Çağdaş Yaşam family. What a wonderful feeling it is to be together and to see that we are not alone on the path. I am very happy to be in the presence of the heroes who prepared us for the Republic under the leadership of our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

It is not easy to be Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His establishment of modern Turkey shows us his success. We are very lucky to be Atatürk’s youth. Despite the difficult days we are living, we always keep our hope alive and continue to walk in the footsteps of Atatürk. How happy we are that we continue to live the Republic declared by Atatürk.

It is a good thing that we exist and we will continue to exist. As long as we live, we will not let the heroes of the national struggle be forgotten and thanks to our youth, we will carry all the heroism from generation to generation,’’ she said.

Following the speeches, Şuhut Atatürk House, which was used as a temporary headquarters by our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk before the Great Offensive, was visited. Afterwards, the participants moved towards Kocatepe. Here, a symbolic flag march was held by the Contemporary Youth in memory of the national sovereignty struggle and the story of the struggle in the region where the Great Offensive took place was told. After the reading of the National Anthem and a moment of silence, a wreath was laid at the Atatürk Monument by the Contemporary Youth Central Unit and the ÇYDD Afyonkarahisar Branch Youth Unit.

In the event where the Captain Agâh Efendi and the Great Offensive martyrs were visited, Atatürk's Address to the Youth and the Youth's Response to Ata were read aloud by the Contemporary Youth.

AS THE CONTEMPORARY YOUTH, WE ARE HERE FOR A FULLY INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

In the last part of the program, Ali Çolak, General Facilitator of the Contemporary Youth Central Unit, made a speech  on behalf of the Contemporary Youth. In his speech, Çolak emphasized that they will continue to follow the footsteps of the Great Leader Atatürk and defend the Republic, and said, “The Contemporary Youth continues the fight for full independence with the spirit of the Kuva-yi Milliye in Afyon in the 101st year of the Republic of Turkey. Today, we say, “We Are Here!” for the fully independent Republic of Turkey that was fought for on the lands we are in. In the presence of all our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the homeland in the Great Offensive, we promise once again that we will continue to fight on the path of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic. We will always keep alive Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s words, “Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation.” As Contemporary Youth, we are here for the fully independent Republic of Turkey,” he said.

The program, which continued with various events throughout the day, ended with the opening ceremony of the new building of the ÇYDD Afyonkarahisar Branch.