We remember Ataturk with respect and yearning

The 73rd anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, leader of Turkish Independence War and founder of Turkish Republic, is being commemorated with yearning. The first ceremony will be held at Anitkabir (Ataturk's Mausoleum) in Ankara. State officials under the direction of President Abdullah Gul will lay wreaths at Ataturk's mausoleum and observe a moment of silence at 9:05 a.m., the exact moment of his death in 1938. "It should be remembered that the date of November 10th, 1938 is not the end of an era but it's the beginning of a new period to develop the Republic which was bequeathed to us by Ataturk. Thus, it will be possible to protect his glorious heritage by exerting efforts to make Turkey a stronger, democratic and more developed country, and take our Republic, which he called as his biggest work, above the level of contemporary civilizations.", said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.