Türkiye’s Izmir marks centennial of Liberation Day

By Meric Urer

IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) – Türkiye’s Aegean province of Izmir held a victory march on Friday to celebrate the centennial of the city's liberation from occupation.

High-level officials, including the mayor, the governor and lawmakers, took part in the march, which ended in the city’s Cumhuriyet (Republic) Square.

As part of the celebration, the people of Izmir marched along the historical route – which the Turkish army used to enter the city for liberation – by carrying a 350-meter-long giant Turkish flag.

Governor Yavuz Selim Kosger said the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Izmir from occupation was celebrated as a nation, with pride and enthusiasm.

Izmir is a city where critical steps were taken on the way to the liberation of the beloved nation and where a campaign against the occupying forces began and ended up with the victory, Kosger added.

On May 15, 1919, the Greek army landed in Izmir with the permission of the Entente States, sparking a campaign against the occupying forces in the country.

Forming the National Forces (Kuvayi Milliye) as a means of armed resistance against the invaders, Turks knew that there were only two possible choices: either surrender to the occupation forces or fight against them.

On Sept. 9, 1922, Izmir was liberated by Turkish troops commanded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, and foreign intervention in Anatolia come to an end.

The Treaty of Lausanne, a crucial agreement ending the war, was signed on July 24, 1923.

The Treaty of Lausanne – signed by Türkiye on one side and Britain, France, Italy, Greece, and their allies on the other – recognized the modern Turkish state and replaced the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, an unfair pact imposed on the Ottoman Empire after World War I.