INTEGRATED ENGLISH REFERENCE NOTES - Prof. Dr. Ziya Yurttaş

62
Atatürk’s Address to the Turkish Youth
Turkish Youth!
Your first duty is to preserve and defend the Turkish independence and the Turkish
Republic forever.
This is the only foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is
your most valuable treasure. In the future too, you will have enemies both in the country
and abroad who will try to deprive you of this treasure. If, one day, you are compelled to
defend your independence and the Republic, you shall not hesitate to perform your duty no
matter what the circumstances and possibilities may be. These circumstances and
possibilities may be extremely unfavorable. The enemies who desire to destroy your
independence and your Republic may have won a victory unprecedented in the history of
the World. By force or deceit, all the fortresses and shipyards of your homeland may have
been seized, all the armies may have been dispersed and all the corners of your homeland
may have actually been occupied. What is more tragic and awesome than even these
eventualities, those in power may have fallen into ignorance, error, or even treason.
Moreover, they may identify their personal interest with the enemies' political claims. The
nation may have been completely deprived, destroyed and exhausted.
Turkish youth of the future, even under these circumstances, it is your duty to save
the Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic. The might that you will need is already
present in the noble blood in your veins.
M.K.Atatürk 1927