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Turkish
youth!
Your first duty is
to project and preserve the Turkish independence and the Turkish
Republic forever . This is the very foundation of your existence
and your future. This foundation is your most precious treasure.
In the future, too, there may be malovelent people at home and
abroad, who wish to deprive you of this treasure. If some day you
are compelled to defend your independence and your republic, you
must not tarry to weigh the possibilities and circumstances of the
situation before taking up your duty. These possibilities and
circumstances may turn out to be extremely unfavorable. The
enemies conspiring against your independence and your Republic may
have behind them a victory unprecedented in the annals of the
world. By violence and ruse, all the fortresses of your beloved
fatherland may be captured, all its shipyards occupied, all its
armies dispersed and every part of the country invaved. And sadder
and graver than all these circumstances, those who hold power
within the country may be in error, misguided and may even be
traitors. Furthermore, they may identify their personal interests
with the political designs of the invaders. The country may be
impoverished, ruined and exhausted.
You, the
youth of Turkey's future, even in such circumstances, it is your
duty to save the Turkish independence and Republic. The strength
you need is in your noble blood within your veins. |
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