On the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the adoption of the Independence March and the 111th anniversary of the 18 March Çanakkale Naval Victory, and as part of the commemoration of our martyrs, the Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) History and Literature Society organised a conference programme themed “The Heroism of a Nation: From Çanakkale to the Independence March”.
The programme began at the HKU Cine Amphitheatre with a moment of silence for our martyrs, the recitation of our Independence March and the screening of the documentary “The Birth of a Spirit: Çanakkale and the Independence March”. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Soğukömeroğulları, a faculty member in Turkish Language and Literature at the Faculty of Science and Letters, Gaziantep University, took part as the guest speaker.
Drawing attention to the fact that the Çanakkale Victory was both a military success and a struggle for existence, and stressing the importance of understanding the spirit behind this struggle, HKU Acting Rector Prof. Dr. Gül Rengin Küçükerdoğan said: “Today, here, we are speaking of the traces of a long struggle fought 111 years ago, an epic of heroism. On this land, a struggle was waged amid scarcity and impossibility, but with great faith. This struggle, in which sacrifice, courage and an unshakeable stance were shown, is not merely a memory left in the past; it is the will to stand firm against every kind of enemy and hardship. When you go to Çanakkale, you do not see only a battlefield. You also see a great struggle fought in want, along with diseases, sacrifices and superhuman resistance.”
“Çanakkale Shall Not Be Passed” Is the Character of Our Nation
Stating that safeguarding social consciousness and our heritage is a duty, Acting Rector Küçükerdoğan said that the saying “Çanakkale Shall Not Be Passed” reflects the character of the Turkish nation, and added: “It is the duty of all of us to protect this precious legacy and pass it on to future generations with the same sense of responsibility. On this occasion, I remember with mercy our noble martyrs who gave their lives for the homeland, first of all Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms, and with gratitude our heroic veterans.”
Giving a presentation titled “The Heroism of a Nation: From Çanakkale to the Independence March”, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Soğukömeroğulları noted that the spirit of Çanakkale is directly linked to the national consciousness embodied in the Independence March, and said that the nation’s will for independence and its faith are powerfully reflected in the verses of Mehmet Akif Ersoy.
In his presentation, Soğukömeroğulları shared episodes from the life of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the poet of our Independence, the events that took place while the Independence March was being written, and his important observations on the Çanakkale Naval Victory.
At the end of the programme, HKU Acting Rector Prof. Dr. Gül Rengin Küçükerdoğan presented Prof. Dr. Mehmet Soğukömeroğulları with a tree-planting certificate in memory of the day.
