ISTANBUL: Turkiye marked its centenary as a post-Ottoman republic on Sunday with somewhat muted celebrations held in the shadow of Israel’s escalating war with Hamas militants in Gaza.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was front and center of day-long events that both honor the secular republic’s founder and play up the achievement of the Islamic-rooted party that has run Turkiye since 2002.
“Our country is in safe hands, you may rest in peace,” Erdogan said after laying a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Erdogan led his conservative Justice and Development Party to power over the leftist Republican People’s Partyformed by Ataturk.
He has spent much of the past decade testing the limits of Turkiye’s secular traditions as well as its ties with the West.
These competing forces were on full display as Erdogan moved from honoring Turkiye’s past to celebrating his own government’s achievement while he was prime minister and president.
Sunday’s celebrations have been partially hit by Erdogan’s increasingly fierce attacks against Israel over its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Turkish state television has also scrapped the broadcast of concerts and other festivities because of the “alarming human tragedy in Gaza.”
Erdogan’s lifelong defense of Palestinian rights has turned him into a hero across swathes of the Muslim world.
He announced that 1.5 million people had come out for a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Saturday that ended up drowning out national television coverage of the centenary.
Erdogan accused the Israeli government of behaving like a “war criminal” and trying to “eradicate” Palestinians. “Israel, you are an occupier,” Erdogan declared.
His remarks prompted Israel to announce the withdrawal of all diplomatic staff for a “re-evaluation” of relations.
The emerging diplomatic crisis further pulled attention away from Turkiye’s birthday party and onto Erdogan’s handling of global affairs.
Turkiye has suffered a turbulent spell of relations with Western allies since Erdogan survived a failed coup attempt in 2016 that he blamed on a US-based Muslim preacher.
Israel had already ordered diplomatic staff out of Turkiye and several other regional countries as a security precaution earlier this month. A Turkish diplomatic source said all Israeli diplomats had left the country by Oct. 19.
Erdogan speaks of ushering in a new era he has dubbed “The Century of Turkiye,” with a new constitution that would uphold conservative family values.
