The 97th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Parliament and National Sovereignty and Children’s Day were marked on April 23 in official ceremonies in Ankara and in celebrations across the country.
Turkish political leaders, including Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. as part of ceremonies in Ankara early on Sunday.
Turkey’s first parliament, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), met for the first time in Ankara in 1920 during the War of Independence to lay the foundations for an independent, secular and modern republic.
Children were made the focus of April 23 celebrations after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first speaker of the TBMM, dedicated the day to children as the nation’s future.