29 Ekim Cumhuriyet Bayramı töreninde

Büyükelçi Fikret Kerem Alp tarafından yapılan hitap

Kampala, 2021

Honorable Minister,

Honorable Members of the Parliament,

Excellencies and representatives of the Diplomatic Corps,

Distinguished guests,

All Protocol observed,

First of all, let me thank you for your presence today. Your cooperation for observing the Covid19 precautionary measures is highly appreciated. Let me assure that all precautions have been taken for creating a healthy and safe environment today.

Unfortunately, a large number of friends of Turkey and Turkish citizens in Uganda couldn’t be invited to our celebration today. I kindly ask them for their understanding.

Dear Guests, let me start by the message by HE President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:

Sayın misafirlerimiz, öncelikle Sayın Cumhurbaşkanımızın mesajları okunacaktır:

“Yurt içinde ve yurt dışında yaşayan vatandaşlarımız ile şanlı tarihimizin altın halkalarından biri olan bu gurur günümüzü bizimle paylaşan tüm dostlarımızın 29 Ekim Cumhuriyet Bayramını tebrik ediyorum.

İlanının 98’inci seneyi devriyesinde, Cumhuriyetimizin banisi Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ile kahraman silah arkadaşlarını minnetle anıyorum. Canları pahasına bu vatanı bize emanet eden aziz şehitlerimize Allah’tan rahmet niyaz ediyorum.

Aynı kutlu dava uğrunda mücadele ederken gazilik payesiyle şereflenen gazilerimize şahsım, ülkem ve milletim adına şükranlarımı sunuyorum. İlk Meclis’ten bugüne kadar, milli iradenin mümtaz temsilcileri olarak Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi çatısı altında ülkemize hizmet etmiş, gerektiğinde bedel ödemiş tüm milletvekillerimize teşekkür ediyorum.

Türkiye’nin bekası, aziz milletimizin huzuru, emniyeti ve selameti için sınır boylarında ve sınırlarımız içinde cansiperane görev yapan güvenlik güçlerimize Rabbim’den muvaffakiyetler diliyorum. Şanlı bayrağımızı dünyanın dört bir köşesinde gururla dalgalandıran işadamlarımızı, sivil toplum kuruluşlarımızı ve kamu görevlilerimizi canı gönülden tebrik ediyorum.

Köklü tarihimizden, kadim değerlerimizden aldığımız güçle, 84 milyon bir ve beraber olarak, Türkiye’yi büyütmek ve hedeflerine ulaştırmak için gayretlerimizi sürdürüyoruz. Tüm dünyayı derinden sarsan koronavirüs salgının en ağır evresini, sağlık altyapımızın gücü ve kapasitesi sayesinde başarıyla yöneterek geride bıraktık.

Aynı şekilde ekonomide de küresel ekonominin yüzde 3’ün üzerinde bir daralma yaşadığı 2020 senesini, biz yüzde 1,8 büyüme oranıyla kapattık. Terörle mücadeleden kamu güvenliğine, yatırımlardan sınırlarımızın ötesinde gerçekleştirdiğimiz harekâtlara kadar hiçbir konuda, herhangi bir zafiyetin oluşmasına müsaade etmedik. Bu süreçte, darbecilerin saldırılarıyla karşı karşıya olan Libyalı kardeşlerimiz ile Karabağ’daki işgale karşı mücadele eden Azerbaycan Türklerine verdiğimiz güçlü destek, her iki ülkenin de hamdolsun kaderini değiştirmiştir.

Libya’da darbeciler hezimete uğrarken, Azerbaycanlı kardeşlerimiz de yaklaşık 30 yıllık işgalin ardından öz topraklarına kavuşmuştur. Ülkemizi ve Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyetini, Doğu Akdeniz’deki hidrokarbon kaynaklarından dışlama girişimlerini de boşa çıkardık. Zorlu salgın şartlarına rağmen ekonomide, iç siyaset ve dış politikada elde ettiğimiz bu başarılar, ülkemizin güçlü altyapısı yanında Cumhurbaşkanlığı Hükümet Sisteminin etkinliğini de gösteren önemli bir işarettir.

Geçen sene yakaladığımız bu ivmeyi, ekonomi, üretim, ihracat başta olmak üzere hamdolsun her alanda daha da güçlendirerek, 2021 yılında da devam ettiriyoruz. Cumhuriyetimizin 100’üncü yılı artık ufukta iyice belirmişken, hiçbir gücün, hiçbir kirli senaryonun, Türkiye’yi tökezletmeyi amaçlayan hiçbir sinsi saldırının bizi yolumuzdan alıkoymasına izin vermeyeceğiz.

Milletçe, en büyük güvencemiz olan birliğimize, beraberliğimize ve kardeşliğimize sımsıkı sarılarak, büyük ve güçlü Türkiye davamızı hayata geçirmenin mücadelesini vereceğiz. Yürüttüğümüz bu kutlu mücadelede, milli mücadeleyi zafere taşıyan, Cumhuriyetimize hayat veren çelikten irade, son 98 yıldır olduğu gibi bugün de rehberimiz olmayı sürdürecektir.

Bu düşüncelerle 29 Ekim Cumhuriyet Bayramımızı bir kez daha tebrik ediyor, milletimize sağlık, huzur ve esenlik diliyorum. Şehitlerimizin ruhları şad olsun! Cumhuriyetimizin 98’inci yıldönümü kutlu olsun!”

“My august nation,

I congratulate our citizens, living at home and abroad, and all our friends, who share our pride on this day which is one of the golden links of our glorious history, on the occasion of the 29 October Republic Day.

I remember with gratitude Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic, and his gallant brothers in arms on the 98thanniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.

I wish Allah’s mercy upon our august martyrs who entrusted these lands to us at the cost of their lives.

Also, on behalf of my country, nation and myself, I extend my gratitude to our veterans who were honored with the title of ghazi while fighting for the sake of the same sacred cause.

I thank all our members of the parliament who as the distinguished representatives of the national will have since the first Assembly served our country under the roof of the Great National Assembly of Turkey and paid a price when needed.

I pray my Lord for the success of our security forces who serve selflessly inside and along our borders for Turkey’s permanence and our august nation’s tranquility, security and welfare.

I wholeheartedly congratulate our state officials, non-governmental organizations and business people that wave our flag with pride all across the world.

We as the 84 million maintain our efforts in unity and solidarity with the strength we derive from our deep-rooted history and ancient values to make Turkey grow bigger and achieve its goals.

We have left behind the most severe phase of the coronavirus pandemic, which has deeply shaken the whole world, by successfully managing it thanks to the strength and capacity of our healthcare infrastructure.

Likewise in economy, we closed 2020, when the global economy shrank by more than 3 per cent, with a growth rate of 1.8 per cent.

We have not allowed any deficiencies in any matter, from the fight against terror to public security and from investments to our cross-border operations.

During this period, the support we provided to our Libyan brothers and sisters, who faced attacks by putschists, and to the Azerbaijani Turks, who fought against the occupation in Karabakh, has, thanks be to Allah, changed the destiny of both countries.

While the putschists were completely defeated in Libya, our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters took back their own lands after nearly a 30-year-long occupation.

Also, we have thwarted the attempts aimed at excluding our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from the hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

These achievements, which we have made in economy, internal politics and foreign policy despite the harsh conditions of the pandemic, are an important sign of the efficiency of the Presidential System of Government as well as of our country’s strong infrastructure.

Thanks be to Allah, we increasingly maintain this momentum, which we gained last year, in 2021 as well in every field, economy, production and exportation in particular.

While the centennial of our Republic has been now clearly sighted on the horizon, we will not allow any power, any dirty scenario or any insidious attack, which seeks Turkey’s stumbling, to deter us from our path.

We as the nation will firmly hold onto our unity, solidarity and brotherhood, which are our biggest assurances, and endeavor to achieve our cause of a great and strong Turkey.

The steely will, which carried the national struggle to victory and brought our Republic into existence, will continue to be our guide in this sacred struggle we have been putting up, as has been the case for the last 98 years.

May my Lord help and guide us!

With these thoughts, I congratulate you once again on the 29 October Republic Day.

May you be blessed with good health, tranquility and welfare!

May our martyrs rest in peace!

Happy 98thanniversary of the proclamation of our Republic!”

Dear Guests,

Today we are celebrating the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, founded on 29th October 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, our first President.

I thank all our friends who share the joy of this important milestone of our history with us.

Happy 98th anniversary for the proclamation of the Republic or Turkey!

Turkey and Uganda have established diplomatic relations more than half a century ago in 1969. The relations have considerably developed with the opening of the Embassy of Turkey in Kampala in 2010 and the opening of the Embassy of Uganda in Ankara in 2011.

Turkey and Uganda share a lot in common. We both have rich natural resources as well as young and dynamic populations.

Uganda and Turkey are peaceful, safe and stable countries in difficult regions, surrounded by wars and conflicts in their respective geographies. This is probably why Turkey is the largest recipient of refugees in the World, and Uganda in Africa.

Clearly this does not mean that we are immune from internal and external threats, such as terrorism. So we need solidarity more than ever and we shall not tolerate terrorists and traitors in our respective territories, who may attempt to abuse our generosity to the detriment of our excellent relations.

I believe that by sharing our experiences and resources, we will support each other in achieving our respective sustainable development targets.

Dear Guests,

Over the past three years, bilateral relations between our friendly countries have improved in all areas thanks to the efforts of my Embassy and the Ugandan Embassy in Ankara under the leadership of my dear brother His Excellency Ambassador Stephen Mubiru.

Turkish investments in Uganda are increasing every day.

We encourage our investors to focus on food processing. Turkey is a big market for Uganda’s agricultural products as well as meat, dairy products and leather. Similarly, Turkey is in good position to provide all sorts of agricultural machines and mechanized tools to help the industrialization of agriculture in Uganda.

Turkish contractors have returned to Uganda. As we reported to His Excellency President Museveni the day before yesterday at the State House, our contractors have brought hundreds of engineers, architects, machines, trucks, dozers etc and have given employment to thousands of Ugandans. Together we shall contribute to the development of the infrastructure of our beautiful host country, while respecting its wildlife.

Tourism and business opportunities between our nations is at its highest historical point. The opening of the visa handling office earlier this year has been a turning point. This allows visa applications to be made directly to the office, without prior appointment required. Let me thank the director and the staff of the office for their good work (Mr. Selahattin Beyribey and staff).

Clearly, increased contacts between our citizens had positive consequences for our bilateral trade. Our trade volume had reached its peak in 2019, before the pandemic. Yet, in spite of the lockdowns, we managed to increase of trade volume in 2020 by around 50 %percent. As I always say to our traders, if Turks wants to sell more to Uganda, they must buy more from Uganda. In consequence, this year our trade volume has grown further and Uganda’s exports to Turkey in the first 8 months of 2021 has further increased by 64 % percent.

Well done Uganda!

Dear Guests,

We cannot measure our relations with Uganda in monetary terms only.

Turkish international cooperation and development agency TIKA established a permanent office in Kampala in 2018 and this has given major impetus to Turkey’s humanitarian aid and contributions to development projects in Uganda.

Dozens of Turkish NGOs continue their humanitarian assistance, throughout the year and in particular during Ramadan and Eid.

Scholarship programs have also resumed. The Government of Turkey trough the Higher Education Council and Diyanet, the Religious Authority, as well as our NGOs and private sector offer hundreds of scholarships to young Ugandans every year.

I am pleased to meet graduates of these scholarship programs being employed in Uganda, in Kampala and beyond, in factories, offices, universities and even in the camp bases of our contractors.

We aim at reaching the next level in cooperation in the field of education once the draft protocol for the establishment of Maarif Foundation, the education foundation, is approved by the Ugandan authorities.

Last but not least, Turkish Airlines is now operating from the largest and newest airport in Europe and brings Uganda closer to the rest of the world from Entebbe.The total number of passenger and cargo flights from Entebbe to İstanbul is now larger than pre-pandemic years. Well done Turkish!

With this, let me now revert to a short speech for our citizens.

Değerli misafirlerimiz,

Hepinizin 29 Ekim Cumhuriyet Bayramını tebrik ediyorum.

Tarihimizin bu önemli dönüm noktasının sevincini bizimle paylaşan tüm dostlarımıza teşekkür ediyorum.

Cumhuriyetimizin ilanının 98’ncı yıldönümü kutlu olsun.

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk başta olmak üzere, bir asırlık şanlı geçmişe sahip Kurtuluş Savaşımızın zafere ulaşmasında ve yeni devletimizin kurulmasında canlarını ortaya koyarak görev alan tüm kahramanlarımızı saygıyla anıyorum.

Türkiye, tarihi birikimi, köklü devlet tecrübesi ile, genç, dinamik, özgür nüfusuyla, demokratik bir hukuk devleti olarak bölgesinin en güçlü ve istikrarlı ülkesidir. Cumhuriyetimizin temel değerleri bize karşımıza çıkacak her türlü doğal, ekonomik veya siyasi sorunun üstesinden gelebilecek gücü vermektedir.

Cumhuriyetimizi daha nice yıllara, çok daha güçlü, çok daha zengin bir şekilde taşıyacağımıza inancımız tamdır.

Bu duygu ve düşüncelerle Cumhuriyetimizin kuruluşunun 98’inci yıldönümünü kutluyor, hepinize ülkemizin birlik, bütünlük, refah ve barışı için yaptığınız katkılar için teşekkür ediyorum.

With this, I will now offer the floor to our distinguished Guest of Honor: Honorable Oryem Okello,

State Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Affairs.

But before that, if you allow me dear brother, I shall request the audience to observe a minute of silence to remember our last guest of honour,

Right Honorable Dr. Kirunda Kivejinja. As you know, Right Honorable Dr. Kirunda Kivejinja, second Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda, was among the victims of the pandemic. May Allah have mercy on his soul.

I will say a short prayer for him in Luganda, he appreciated me trying to speak his native language.

In Luganda:

Muganda waffe oyo tumweebaza nyo olwe enkolagana ennungi nolwe ebyo byeyakolera egwanga lye.

Tumusubwa,

netumusiima era netusaba Katonda omwoyo gwe agulamuze ekisa.

Mwebale kumpuliriza!

Mweraba tubagala nyo!

May I now kindly request a moment of silence for late Right Honorable Dr. Kirunda Kivejinja and all those who have lost their lives in the pandemic.

Thank you very much.

Honorable Minister, you now have the floor.

[…]

Thank you Honorable Minister.

Let us now raise our glasses to the welfare and prosperity ofour friendlynations and to the health of Their Excellencies President Erdoğan and President Museveni.