TMNT Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Gallipoli dead remembered at dawn The World War I landing of Australian and New Zealand troops in Gallipoli 90 years ago has been marked with a dawn ceremony beneath its cliffs. Australian Prime Minister John Howard, his New Zealand counterpart Helen Clark and Britain's Prince Charles attended. The prince read a psalm and more than a dozen wreaths were laid. Tens of thousands of soldiers, 21,000 British and Irish troops among them, died in the eight-month 1915 campaign aimed at capturing Istanbul. In Sydney, Australian veterans were among a record crowd of more than 20,000 people who gathered in Martin Place to mark Anzac Day and the nearly 9,000 Australians who died during the hostilities in north-western Turkey. 'National identity' The site of the dawn service at Gallipoli is named Anzac Cove after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who landed there on 25 April 1915. Thousands of visitors from the two countries attended what was expected to be the largest gathering ever at the site. Mr Howard said the Anzacs had "changed forever the way we saw our world and ourselves, they bequeathed Australia a lasting sense of national identity, they sharpened our democratic temperament and our questioning eye towards authority". "They came to do their bit in a mobilisation not of their making..., they forged a legend whose grip on us rises tighter with each passing year." Ms Clark traced the beginning of New Zealand's statehood to the landings. "It was here that our young nations began to come of age, it was here that we began to think of ourselves not just as servants of the British Empire but as distinct national identities," she said. At the end of the ceremony the Turkish flag was raised to fly next to those of Australia and New Zealand. At a ceremony on Sunday in honour of fallen Turkish troops, also attended by Ms Clark and Mr Howard, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan underscored how the nations that fought each other at Gallipoli had since developed "friendship and co-operation". Many historians trace the rise of Australian nationalism to the Gallipoli landings. Stalemate The Allies - intending to occupy Constantinople (now Istanbul) the capital of the Ottoman empire - failed to throw back the Turkish defenders and a long and bloody stalemate ensued. Over the years Gallipoli has come to be thought of by some as an Australian and New Zealand operation, says the BBC's Turkey correspondent Jonny Dymond. But nearly 9,000 French, 21,000 British and Irish and 86,000 Turkish troops died attacking and defending the thin strip of land. The dawn service from Gallipoli was televised throughout Turkey. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4479843.stm Published: 2005/04/25 05:56:18 GMT © BBC MMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMNT Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 (edited) This is appraently on the front page of BBC Europe. Obvious attempt to avoid the AG, well, everything so far is a obvious attempt to avoid the AG, but this is just obvious. I wonder how much ass the Turkish government had to kiss in order to get a full fledged invite to the event. I have been an active reader of the BBC for 3 years now and never have they ever covered anything related to WW1. By the way, if it is no problem can one of the moderators move the article to AG or events section, thanks in advance. Edited April 25, 2005 by TMNT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamavor Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 (edited) the best turk is the dead turk! the next best thing is dead anglo!!! Edited April 25, 2005 by gamavor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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