CLARK: WHAT TOOK PLACE IN CANAKKALE IS NOW IN JOINT MEMORY OF NATIONS WHOSE SOLDIERS HAD FOUGHT HERE
GELIBOLU - Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark has stated on Sunday that what took place in Canakkale 90 years ago was now in the joint memory of nations whose soldiers fought there. It even shaped who we are as a person and as a nation, added Clark.
''The war in Canakkale shaped humanity and international communities,'' said Clark in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and representatives of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, South Africa and Britain. ''We are gathered here today to express our respect to all the brave ones who fought here.'' she added.
Clark indicated that the allied forces lost 130,000 lives. ''Hundreds of thousands of people were injured.'' She said what had experienced in Canakkale still shocked everybody after 90 years.
Clark mentioned that walking on the soil at Gelibolu is actually walking on a soil where so much blood was shed making these lands a holy, sacred place. She said the military clashes here were not worthy of attention only because of their difficult and fierce nature, but also because of the respect the clashing sides showed each other. Clark recalled the words of Lieutenant Colonel Bassett who joined the Canakkale War: ''I now stood in front of people who were once our enemies. We hated them, but never belittled them. We appreciated their bravery and perseverance. We have become friends once again with this race who is devoted to its homeland. There now exist respect between us. Our martyrs fell on to the same soil. That day, we gained a lot with the mutual respect we showed to each other.''
Clark underlined that these feelings were shared by the Turks as well. The generosity shown by Ataturk and his successors is worthy of attention more than anything else because those who were defeated were there to occupy the country, she added.
Australia's Minister of Veterans Anne Kelly remarked that the words ''your sons have become our sons'' by Ataturk for the Anzacs who died in Gelibolu have a special place in the hearts and souls of Australians.
In the ceremony also attended by high level Turkish dignitaries, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed the Special Book of Mehmetcik Monument. ''The memory of the biggest war the humanity has witnessed is the biggest touchstone of the Republic of Turkey. I remember with the highest respect the great heroes who lost their lives to defend our country and the sons who share the same soil with them of nations who are enemies of yesterday but friends today,'' wrote Erdogan.