The Turkish Republic has turned 100 today. The country was founded from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire by Ghazi Mustufa Kemal Ataturk, who established a secular republic.

The reforms he introduced led to the replacement of the Arabic script with the Roman alphabet.

Ataturk’s reforms also gave women the right to vote. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become his country’s most influential leader since Ataturk.

According to Erdogan, “it is our highest duty to ensure that the Republic, which was born as ‘the protector of those in need’ in the words of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, lives on forever.”

He along with entire Turkish nation deserves praise on this highly auspicious occasion. Long live Turkiye. Moreover, Erdogan’s strongly unambiguous position in relation to unprecedented Israeli atrocities on the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza in particular has earned him a highly enviable place in the world in general and Islamic world in particular.

Addressing hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Istanbul yesterday ahead of centenary of his country, Erdogan assailed the US-led West for backing Israel that has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days.

In my view, Erdogan has become an unrivalled leader of Islamic world, eclipsing those from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some other Islamic countries.

Ali Haider

Karachi

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023