ANKARA - Anadolu Agency (A.A) will celebrate its 83rd birthday on Sunday.
A wreath will be laid on Ataturk's Monument in front of A.A Headquarters and a minute of silence will be observed.
Then, a meeting will be held in the Conference Hall with the participation of State Minister Besir Atalay.
A.A personnel headed by A.A General Director and President of Executive Board Hilmi Bengi will visit Anitkabir, the Mausoleum of Ataturk on Monday. Bengi will lay a wreath on Ataturk's Mausoleum and sign Anitkabir Special Book.
Anadolu Agency was established on April 6, 1920 as the proposal made to Mustafa Kemal Pasha by Yunus Nadi (Abalioglu) and Halide Edib (Adivar) was adopted. Thus, Anadolu Agency started to make the struggle of Anatolia be heard in the country and in the world.
Two groups which left Istanbul five days after the city was occupied by Allied Forces in 16 March 1920, met in Geyve township on March 31. Yunus Nadi (Abalioðlu) and Halide Edip (Adivar) were among the members of those two groups. These two intellectuals had discussed ''setting up a news agency as soon as they arrived in Ankara'' when they stopped for a rest. They also discussed a name for the agency, and chose ''Anadolu Agency'' among alternatives such as ''Turk'', ''Ankara'' and ''Anadolu''.
The convoy had reached Ankara in April 1, 1920. At the ''School of Agriculture'', the headquarters of Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the establishment of Anadolu Agency was brought onto the agenda in the talks following a dinner on April 4 or April 5.
Next morning, Anadolu Agency was set up in the School of Agriculture, the headquarters of Mustafa Kemal Pasha.
Mustafa Kemal sent a historical circular to whole country, introducing Anadolu Agency. In the circular, he underlined the importance of making their struggle be heard inside and outside the country. The circular emphasized not the information, but the most accurate version of information. What Mustafa Kemal was underlining when he said ''information Anadolu Agency would convey with fastest methods, was the main universal principle which the news agencies had to obey; ie, the obligation of conveying ''accurate and objective'' information ''rapidly''.
The A.A continued its activities that started in a room at the School of Agriculture, in the basement of a teachers' school in Ankara's Ulus district. Later, it moved to a two-storey building in Samanpazari. The A.A started publishing local and foreign news using a typewriter which Mustafa Kemal promised to get for Halide Edip from the Osmanli Bank. The news stories were published under the title of ''Anadolu Agency Statement''.
The A.A issued its first bulletin on April 12, 1920.
The first bulletin which can be considered as ''a call to Anatolian people'' was as follows: ''The A.A which was founded to provide the most accurate news and information to our people in a period when Anatolia and Rumeli had taken action under the determination of the Protection of Law after our state's center was occupied by enemies, has started its mission as of today. It is not needed to explain that as many people as possible should read and learn these news and information. We ask you all to assist us by setting up special organizations to write our news and information on black boards at the doors of post offices, to publish and distribute them where it is possible, and to send them to all townships and villages. Following this introduction, today's news are as follows:''
In the bulletin, brief information was given about the latest political developments in different parts of the world.
-NOT TRANSFERRING A.A BULLETINS IS A TREASON-
In a circular he sent to the Anadolu Telegram Center on April 18, 1920, Ataturk remarked that there were a number of complaints stating that the center was not transferring the A.A's bulletins to certain places. He said failure to transfer the A.A's bulletins could be considered ''treason.''
-INONU'S SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FOUNDATION-
Ismet Inonu, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's brother in arm, and the second President of Republic of Turkey, delivered a speech on the occasion of 50th anniversary of foundation of the A.A.
Inonu said, ''we were so proud in those days that we had an agency and we could herald our voice to the world. We did not even know whether or not these news stories could be sent abroad. News stories were sent to Istanbul secretly. Within the structure of the parliament, the A.A was possibly the institution working under heaviest conditions. But its works were very beneficial.''
Two months after foundation of the A.A, the four-article law of the Directorate General of Press and Information was adopted on June 7, 1920. The fourth Article of the Law, showed ''director of the A.A'' in the staff list of this directorate general. In another law adopted on December 25, 1920, the directorate general of press was connected to the Foreign Ministry.
The withdrawal of government from the A.A and its transformation into a company was brought onto agenda during the debates on budget law for the year 1924. On March 1, 1925, the Anadolu Agency Turkish Corporation was founded.
-A.A TODAY-
Today, Anadolu Agency has 27 regional offices and directorates in Turkey and 40 correspondents abroad.
A.A started to use VBI system which is ''data transmission'' four years ago. The Agency has not only reached every place in Turkey but also transmitted its news stories to a wide geography from Europe to Turkish republics, from Middle East to North Africa with this system.
Besides written and visual press organs, Anadolu Agency has also started to serve internet organizations and GSM companies with its advanced communication technology.
Anadolu Agency is also one of the four big agency which use the most advanced photograph technology. The Agency is sending over 150 high-quality photographs to its subscribers via computers and satellites.
-COOPERATION WITH INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES-
Anadolu Agency, which is cooperating with not only around 100 national news agencies but also international agencies like AP, Reuters, AFP, and DPA, is receiving thousands of news stories from these sources every day. Anadolu Agency, which is offering these news to the use of the media, is also informing these foreign agencies about the developments in Turkey. Anadolu Agency is also a member of the ''European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA).'' Anadolu Agency, which pioneered the unification of news agencies in countries surrounding the Meditteranean under the umbrella of the ''Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN)'', later cooperated with news agencies in sister Turkish republics and ensured foundation of ''Association of Turkish Speaking Countries News Agencies'' in order to make Turkey's voice be heard in Middle East and to transfer the developments in these countries to the western media.
Anadolu Agency, which is also a founder of the Association of Balkan News Agencis (ABNA), is a member of the Organization of Asia-Pasific News Agencies (OANA) and a founder member of Association of Economic Cooperation Organization Countries News Agencies (ECONA).
-ALWAYS TURKEY'S VOICE-
Anadolu Agency will continue its efforts in line with the principles set by Ataturk efficiently in 2000s. Anadolu Agency is writing and transmitting news uninterruptedly for 24 hours like the biggest four news agencies of the world. A.A is transmitting approximately 650 news stories and more than 150 internal and external oriented photographs a day.
Anadolu Agency is determined to continue to fulfil its duties in line with the principles set during its foundation with the same enthusiasm.
(BRC) 05.04.2003