NAZ AKMAN – Former President of the Constitutional Court Lawyer and Honorary member of the Association of Journalists Yekta Güngör Özden talked about our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the 81st anniversary of his death, at the Press House in Ankara. Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union (EU) “Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Programme” (M4D) hosted Özden at the Press House to talk about his experience as one of the ten people that were involved in transferring the remains of Atatürk from the Ethnography Museum to Anıtkabir.
Bilgin “I am honoured to present you the greatest Ataturkist I know”
Chairman of the Association of Journalists Nazmi Bilgin introduced Özden with the following words: “It would take me a very long time to properly introduce Mr. Özden to you all. He is one of the greatest references of my life. He is also a very important asset of our Association. He has stood by the side of many chairmen of our Association, alongside mine, as well. He has also acted as a legal consultant for us. He has never compromised his dignified stance. We will be forever indebted to Mr. Özden for his contributions. Today is November 10th… Today we commemorate the loss of our Great Leader once again. We will continue to commemorate our great leader as long as the Republic of Turkey prevails. In addition to all his important duties, Mr. Özden was one of the ten students who attended the ceremony on behalf of Turkish youth to bring Atatürk's body from the Ethnographic Museum to Anıtkabir. I am honored to present Yekta Güngör Özden, the greatest Ataturkist I know, who served as the president of the Constitutional Court for seven years. ”
Özden started his speech by reminding the audience of the important reforms conducted under Atatürk “Friendship is very important to me, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is the eternal friend of the people of Turkey. Atatürk is the light and fire in our hearts and brains. Not only Turkey but the whole world knows the value of Atatürk. Indeed, that is why there are statues of Atatürk in 56 countries around the world. “
“A Republican life for millions”
Özden told about Atatürk's encounter on the way to the proclamation of the Republic from a historical perspective and said:
“Atatürk had resigned from the Yıldırım Army Group and arrived in Ankara coming from Adana. Atatürk was the guest of Governor Nazım Bey in Adana. During a meal, Atatürk stated that Turkey’s salvation lied in a new structure and order, to which Governor Nazım Bey responded “But Pasha, what more do you want? Our Sultan is in charge and so is the grand vizier. Is there a better land than ours?” Atatürk retorted “No, the salvation of the Turkish nation is in the Republic.” Atatürk’s march from Samsun in 1919, and the proclamation of the Amasya Circular showed his decisiveness to realize his goals. Following the Erzurum Congress and the Sivas Congress, in an environment where everyone was calling for the sultan, the founding of the Grand National Assembly was not only significant for our political history but it was a big step in the national struggle. Ever since his youth, Atatürk knew that the salvation of Turks lied in changing the system. As you all know, Atatürk received the rank of general after the 22-day and 22-night war in Sakarya during the national War of Independence he started. After the Dardanelles Wars, he was honoured with a medal by Enver Pasha. However, after the Battle of Sakarya, he became general of the army. After 
winning the war, Refet Pasha and his friends were suspicious of Atatürk’s activities. 'Are you planning to proclaim a republic?' they said. Atatürk wrote on his pack of cigarettes, 'Everything will be known when the day comes.' Indeed, as you all know on the night that connected October 28, October 29, during the Çankaya meeting with İsmet İnönü Atatürk said “Tomorrow we proclaim the Republic.” After the proclamation of the Republic in 1923, despite the country being ravaged by poverty Atatürk was able to carry through this difficult time without owing a cent to foreign powers and even paying off Ottoman debts acquired through the Treaty of Lausanne.”
“My biggest source of pride is to be a child of Mustafa Kemal ”
“The liberation of a country, the restructuring of that country means the realization of very important programmes, not only politically but also economically and socially. Imagine building a country out of nothing and making that country one of the most respected states in the world. After all that, being able to unite citizens under one flag and one ideal. One cannot imagine fitting all these achievements into one life time. Look at his contributions to the youth, his leadership. His attitude to university students, his relations with his adopted children, these are all very important things. I was the lawyer of Sabiha Gökçen. I also got to know Ülkü quite closely. I say this again today, my biggest source of pride is to be a child of Mustafa Kemal. To me, he is the sun that never sets over Turkey.”
15 years after his death, his face was still the same
Özden was among the 10 people, and the only one that is currently alive, to have participated in the transfer of Atatürk’s body on 10 November 1953. Özden said, “I want to also talk about transferring Atatürk from the Ethnography Museum to Anıtkabir in 1953. The coffin was opened in the Ethnography Museum, a steel coffin was removed from it, it was then cut with a steel saw and the coffin was opened. At that instance I saw Atatürk’s face. Even 15 years after his death, his face was still the same. It was as though he would open his eyes any moment… His handsome face looked as though he was peacefully sleeping.”
“We saw Atatürk wrapped in a white shroud”
Özden continued, “The year was 1953. I was the chairman of the Publication Commission of the National Students Federation. On October 29, they had chosen me to manage the opening of the statue in front of the Faculty of Agriculture in Dışkapı. We did the opening. Then we received an invitation from the Prime Ministry through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They said they gave my name to represent the youth in removing Atatürk from his temporary tomb to be buried in Anıtkabir. Since there was no cold storage in those years, they had buried Atatürk’s body eight meters in the ground to preserve his body in the Ethnographic Museum. I had a red ribbon on my arm indicating I was on duty. I saw the moment when the marble of the Ethnographic Museum was broken to allow the crane to go down to remove the coffin. They cut the centre of the museum from four corners and removed the marble. Then the crane went down. The coffin was slowly removed. There were four yellow rings on either side. These rings were sparkling, as if they had been unaffected by all those years. It was said that the coffin was made of Italian cherry or linden wood. It was mouldy. The flag was removed as soon as the coffin came out. They pulled the coffin to the left. Students of the Girls Technical Teacher School started cleaning the coffin. They removed the flag and brought a new flag. The coffin was opened. A shiny silver coffin came out of it. They took that coffin and cut one third of it. We saw Atatürk wrapped in a white shroud. Dr. Mrs. Kamile opened the cloth to show his face. He hadn’t shut has eyes tight, it was though as he would open his eyes any moment. His handsome face was so peaceful, as though he had shaved the previous night. If I remember correctly, his left eyebrow seemed to have sunken a little bit. There was no deterioration in Atatürk's body, they just closed it and put the body in a new steel coffin.”
“After putting the coffin in the ground I realized that Atatürk would never be coming back”
From the Ethnography Museum, cannon cart at front, the band behind us we started the march. The only two things you could hear were the marching of the soldiers and the sounds of people sobbing. I noticed that nobody from İnönü’s delegation was making a sound, then we finally made it to Anıtkabir. The coffin was lowered from the cannon carriage, and was first placed in a section in front of Anıtkabir. President Celal Bayar made a very nice speech and said 'To love you is a national worship'. The soldiers carried the coffin on their shoulders to the beginning of Aslınlı Road and placed the coffin on the catafalque. From here the coffin was lowered from the mausoleum to the burial chamber. In this room, President Bayar, Parliament Speaker Refik Koraltan, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, Interior Minister Namık Gedik, Ankara Governor Kemal Aygün, Atatürk's last general secretary who came from America for this ceremony Hasan Rıza Soyak, Atatürk's adoptive son Abdurrahim Tuncak, General Staff President Nuri Yamut, Atatürk's sister Makbule Atadan and I were there. Along with a few soldiers there were a total of ten people. The coffin was lowered to the grave by a steel crane. We laid soil with our hands. Earth brought from Thessalonica, Cyprus and all around Turkey was sprinkled over the coffin. Makbule Hanım burst into tears during the burial ceremony, I lent her my arm. When I returned to my dorm I started sobbing. I had truly believed until then that Atatürk would return one day but I understood that Atatürk would never be coming back. That great deprivation, that great distance, that great pain drowned made me burst into tears.”
