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Turkish youth!
Your first duty is to project and preserve the
Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic
forever . This is the very foundation of your
existence and your future. This foundation is your
most precious treasure. In the future, too, there
may be malovelent people at home and abroad, who
wish to deprive you of this treasure. If some day
you are compelled to defend your independence and
your republic, you must not tarry to weigh the
possibilities and circumstances of the situation
before taking up your duty. These possibilities and
circumstances may turn out to be extremely
unfavorable. The enemies conspiring against your
independence and your Republic may have behind them
a victory unprecedented in the annals of the world.
By violence and ruse, all the fortresses of your
beloved fatherland may be captured, all its
shipyards occupied, all its armies dispersed and
every part of the country invaved. And sadder and
graver than all these circumstances, those who hold
power within the country may be in error, misguided
and may even be traitors. Furthermore, they may
identify their personal interests with the political
designs of the invaders. The country may be
impoverished, ruined and exhausted.
You, the youth of Turkey's future, even in such
circumstances, it is your duty to save the Turkish
independence and Republic. The strength you need is
in your noble blood within your veins
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