Australian PM: "No nation could have better guarded our shrines than Turks"

Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders participated in commemorative ceremonies yesterday morning at a dawn service at Anzac Cove. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard joined thousands of Australians and New Zealanders at Gallipoli for the annual Anzac Day dawn service 97 years after Australian Imperial Forces landed at Gallipoli. Gillard said that this was a place hallowed by sacrifice and loss. "Australian and New Zealand commander, General Godley, left a message asking the Ottoman forces to respect the Anzac graves. But no such invitation was required. The Turkish people honored our losses and embraced them as their own sons. And later they did something rare in the pages of history – they named this place in honor of the vanquished as Anzac Cove. We therefore owe the Republic of Turkey a profound debt. No nation could have better guarded our shrines or more generously welcomed our pilgrims," Gillard said.