Martyr Journalist Hasan Tahsin Commemorated in Front of the 'First Bullet Monument'

Martyr Journalist Hasan Tahsin, who ignited the spark of the resistance during the occupation of Izmir, was commemorated with a ceremony held in front of the “First Bullet Monument” in Konak. Minister Tunç Soyer“Let no one be in any doubt. İzmir is the city of pact and fidelity. We will continue to do our duty with determination and until the end.”

Journalist Hasan Tahsin, who fired the first bullet at the occupation forces and was martyred there on May 15, 1919, when the occupation of Izmir began, was commemorated with a ceremony held in front of the "First Bullet Monument". Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality attended the ceremony. Tunç Soyer, CHP Izmir deputies Atilla Sertel, Tacettin Bayır, Bedri Serter, Murat Minister, Konak Mayor Abdul Batur, Gaziemir Mayor Halil Arda, Izmir Journalists Association President Dilek Gappi, journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

“İzmir is the city of loyalty”

Expressing that Hasan Tahsin is a national hero who inspired the world's most important resistance against imperialism, the President Tunç Soyer“Hasan Tahsin was brave. Because he had a dream. He knew that independence was possible despite the British, French, American, Italian and Greek battleships that covered Izmir Bay on 14 May. Whatever a society loses, it can overcome anything as long as it has dreams. However, if we do not have dreams and hope, we are finished. The only basis for the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to have established a new country by piercing all the disasters like an arrow was that he had strong dreams for this country. Hasan Tahsin was like that. At the cost of his life, he lit the first spark of an epic liberation struggle. This square where we are now, this monument we stand in front of is the place where the first bullet that started the national struggle in Anatolia and the last bullet that heralded the great victory were fired. It is our duty to protect this great heritage with our heart and soul. Let no one doubt. İzmir is the city of pact and fidelity. We will continue to do our duty with determination and until the end.”

“Izmirians are patriotic”

İzmir Journalists Association Honorary President and CHP İzmir Deputy Atilla Sertel stated that İzmir is the city of independence and said, “İzmir is the city where the first bullet was fired for liberation. The people of Izmir are patriotic. The people of Izmir are honorable people who always want this country to be run by honest and honorable people. İzmir Journalists' Association is a continuation of Hasan Tahsin and his understanding," he said.

“He was a journalist who could scream freedom”

Stating that the first bullet fired by the martyr journalist Hasan Tahsin was the symbol of freedom of the Turkish nation, İzmir Journalists Association President Dilek Gappi said: “Hasan Tahsin was a real hero in those dark days, not only with his ideas, his writings, but also with his speeches, the statements he signed, the meetings and actions he attended. He was a journalist who showed that he was an intellectual, that he was on the side of the people, and could cry out for freedom until the end. Because a journalist is a person who mobilizes a society for the sake of independence when necessary. Journalists who are killed, threatened and imprisoned for fulfilling their duties today will be remembered for their upright stance, just like Hasan Tahsin. We will always stand tall. Hasan Tahsin's struggle for independence is a badge we wear on our chest.”