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O Turkish Youth!
Your first and foremost duty is to defend and protect Turkish
independence and the Turkish Republic for all eternity.
This is the very foundation of your existence and of your
future. This foundation is your most precious treasure. In future ages, too,
there will be those at home and abroad who are maleficent and desirous
of depriving you of this treasure. If, some day, you find yourself in a
position in which you have to defend your independence and your
Republic, you must not tarry to weigh the possibilities and circumstances of
the situation before taking up your duty. These possibilities and
circumstances may turn out to be extremely unfavourable. The enemies
conspiring against your independence and your Republic may have behind them a
victory unprecedented in the annals of the world. By force or by ruse,
all citadels of your beloved fatherland may have been captured, all
shipyards taken, all its armies disbanded and every part of the country may
have been put under de facto occupation. Even graver and more
distressing than all these circumstances, those who hold and exercise the power
within the country may prove unwitting, misdirected and even
treasonous. Furthermore, they may have indentified their personal interests with
the political designs of the invaders. The nation may have fallen into
complete destitution, may be in a worn-out and exhausted state.
O Sons and Daughters of future Turkish generations! Even under
such circumstances and conditions, your mission is to save Turkish
independence and the Turkish Republic. All the mighty strength that you
will need exists in the noble blood a-flowing in your veins!
20 October 1927
P.S. Written a few years after the Turkish independence war was won. It is so valid even today. There may be some references that may irritate you such as "noble blood flowing in your veins". You should take into account the rise of patriotism during and in the aftermath of the independence war and the need for replacing the Islamic identity of Turks with a national one to lay the foundations of a modern society. You should also take into consideration the time frame and check out the discourses of other world leaders of the day.
In the end, this address is still very relevant to modern day Turkey. No one is obliging the country to give up on the ideals of the young republic. What we see today is the result of years of behind the closed doors activities sponsored by Islamic fundamentalists both inside and outside the country to take over the regime.
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