Turks around the world observed the 91st anniversary of the Canakkale Naval Victory on 18 March 2006, honoring those who died in defense of their homeland on the annual Day of Martyrs.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said the Canakkale battles shifted the global balance of power and that the only fitting tribute to the fallen is the permanent preservation of the Republic of Türkiye. He called on citizens to protect national unity and resist threats to it.
Parliamentary Speaker Bulent Arinc credited the victory to deep faith, love of country, and a powerful desire for freedom, pledging that the sacrifice of the martyrs would never be forgotten.
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said Türkiye's freedom was built on the lives of those martyrs, remembering both the Canakkale dead and those lost in the subsequent struggle to defend the nation's flag.
Chief of the General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok described Canakkale as a pivotal moment in both Turkish and world history, noting that the victory gave Ataturk and a small group of determined fighters the resolve that ultimately carried Türkiye through its War of Independence.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2006, in its own words.