Deputy Öz: “The fuse of the national struggle was ignited from Erzurum”

AK Party Erzurum Deputy Mehmet Emin Öz delivered a speech at the Turkish Grand National Assembly podium on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s arrival in Erzurum to light the torch of liberation. Mentioning that Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his comrades arrived in Erzurum on July 3, AK Party Erzurum Deputy Mehmet Emin Öz stated in his speech at the Parliament, ‘After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and the occupation of the country by the Allied Powers following the Armistice of Mudros, the occupation of Izmir was the last straw. Mustafa Kemal Pasha landed in Samsun, igniting the flame of the National Struggle. The reason for his arrival in Erzurum after Havza and Amasya was that the associations gathered to protect Erzurum had decided to hold a congress on July 10.’ Expressing gratitude for the heroes, Erzurum Deputy Öz emphasized the historical significance of Erzurum, stating, ‘Assigned to the Saltukids after the victory of Malazgirt in 1071, Erzurum had a peaceful coexistence after falling into the hands of the Ottomans in 1514. According to Evliya Çelebi, it was the third largest customs city after Istanbul and Izmir. The city was almost erased from history after the wars in 1829, 1878, and 1916. In Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s book ‘Five Cities’: ‘This time Erzurum I came to was a different Erzurum. The proud frontier city that had prided itself for centuries had little left of its spirit… Death attacked the city as if it wanted to leave nothing alive behind it. It was the victory of death as the old painters liked to depict.’ The heroes of the Erzurum Congress, with the determined stance of the 56 delegates and the support of the people of Erzurum, stood against the attempts to establish an Armenian and Pontus Greek state in the region. Remembering with pride Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Ali Fuat, Refet, Rauf, Kazım, Hoca Raif, and those who supported Mustafa Kemal such as Cevat Dursunoğlu, Major Kazım Yurdalan, Mustafa Durak Sakarya, I respectfully and gratefully commemorate all the heroes who organized the Erzurum Congress.’