Ankara Metropolitan Municipality organized a competition in memory of diplomats who were martyred during their duties around the world since 1973.
ABB President Mansur Yavaş attended the “Foreign Affairs Martyrs’ Memorial and Memorial Site Idea Project” colloquium and presented plaques to the winners of the competition.
Mansur Yavaş said, “What we call a city is not built with just roads and buildings; it is built with shared pain, shared values and shared memory.”
Yavaş stated that they wanted to convey that the monument was a symbol of peace, dialogue and national honor for diplomats, and said, “In this place, our youth will learn not only pain but also responsibility. They will understand what hatred can lead to; how radical ideologies, distorted history and terrorism bring destruction.”
Ankara Metropolitan Municipality organized the “Foreign Affairs Martyrs’ Memorial and Memorial Site Idea Project Competition” to keep the memory of diplomats who were martyred during their duties alive.
An award ceremony was held at the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Conference Hall for the project to be carried out in the Çankaya Botanical Garden. The ceremony was attended by families of martyrs, ambassadors, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of many civil society organizations and academics.
Speaking at the program held at the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Conference Hall, Yavaş commemorated the martyred diplomats and said, “We have come together here today to not forget a great pain that has left deep marks in the memory of our nation; to keep the precious memories of our diplomats who were martyred in treacherous attacks while on duty alive. We see the award ceremony of the ‘Foreign Affairs Martyrs’ Memorial and Memorial Site Idea Project’ competition, which we opened as the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, as not only an architectural process but also a part of national loyalty, stance and memory.”
Condemning the attacks on diplomatic representatives, Yavaş said that this situation was not only an attack but also an attack on the sovereignty of the Republic of Türkiye, peace and humanity.
“WE LOST 41 DIPLOMATS AND 74 CITIZENS IN THE ATTACKS OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS”
Yavaş continued his words as follows:
“Since 1973, we have lost 41 diplomats and 74 citizens in total, who were targeted just for doing their jobs, all around the world, in the ruthless attacks of terrorist organizations. These attacks have not only silenced our diplomats, but also attacked world peace and common human values in the person of ambassadors who represent the honor of our country. This reality should always be kept alive in our cities, squares, minds and hearts, not as a note in history books. That is why we wanted to bring the Foreign Affairs Martyrs’ Memorial and Memorial Site Idea Project to life in a historical place like the Çankaya Botanical Garden, right in the heart of Ankara. Because what we call a city is not built with roads and buildings alone; it is built with common pains, common values and common memory.”
“IN THIS PLACE, OUR YOUTH WILL LEARN NOT ONLY PAIN BUT ALSO RESPONSIBILITY”
Yavaş said that the monuments are about what kind of a legacy they will leave for the future.
“With this monument, we want to tell that our diplomats are not only martyrs of duty, but also symbols of peace, dialogue and national honor. In this place named after them, our youth will learn not only pain but also responsibility. They will understand what hatred can lead to; how radical ideologies, distorted history and terror can bring destruction,” he said.
Emphasizing that those who carried out these attacks did not receive the punishment they deserved in many countries, Yavaş said, “We will continue to defend law, human rights and peace against this distorted understanding. Because in our culture, martyrdom is the highest position and we will be a nation that never forgets our martyrs and keeps them alive.”
“WE HAVE ALSO PLACED A MONUMENT TO KEEP TALAT PASHA’S MEMORY ALIVE”
Yavaş explained another project they implemented within this framework with the following words:
“We have placed a monument on Talat Pasha Boulevard in Ankara to keep the memory of Talat Pasha, one of the leading figures of the Committee of Union and Progress who served in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. Not forgetting both our statesmen like Talat Pasha and our diplomats who were martyred abroad during the Republic period means keeping the historical continuity and state memory of the capital Ankara alive. These projects are more than just monuments; they are the will of a society to protect its past. I would like to thank all the architects, artists, academics, selection committee and jury members who contributed to this competition.”
After the speech, Yavaş presented the awards to the winners of the competition.
