ASHKABAT-ALMATY - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern and secular Turkish Republic, was commemorated in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan upon his 65th death anniversary on Monday.
Addressing the ceremony in Ataturk Park which was opposite to the Turkish Embassy in Ashkabat, Turkish Ambassador to Turkmenistan Mehmet Bahattin Gursoz said that ''we come together on Ataturk's death anniversary to stress the importance of his principles and revolutions once again.''
Noting that Ataturk had been a real example for nations which didn't gain their independence at those times, Gursoz said that nations which lived under colonial rule particularly in Asia and Africa carefully monitored the independence fight of Ataturk and they were very impressed by Ataturk's success.
Turkmen Culture Minister Orazgeldi Aydogdiyev, Ashkabat's Mayor Amangeldi Recepov, Turkmen Foreign Ministry officials, Turkish Embassy personnel, teachers, and many Turkish businessmen and workers in Turkmenistan attended the ceremony.
A commemoration ceremony also took place in Turkish Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Turkish Ambassador to Kazakhstan Cınar Aldemir, embassy personnel, representatives of Turkish institutions in Almaty attended the ceremony.
(ÖŞ-AÖ) 10.11.2003