J TRALIN AI
PRIME MINISTER
EBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER AT OFFICIAL DINNER
GIVEN BY PRIME MINISTER AKBUWUT
ANKARA 23 APRIL 1990
Mr Prime Minister and Mrs Akbulut
Distinguished Guests,
I am privileged to be the first Prime Minister of Australia
to visit this great country, so rich in its history, its
civilisation and its cultures. It is a happy coincidence
that tday shulthb
T I-& UsJ4" ido u bLWe 91h ñ SDy, 1 0m. an
institution to which you, Mr Prime Minister, made such a
notable contribution as Speaker.
It is a remarkable illustration of the strange workings of
history, Mr Prime Minister, that I should be here in Turkey
to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the first great
encounter between our two countries a tragic meeting, as
adversaries, on the field of battle.
Let it be said at the outset, however, that this was not a
conflict which engendered lasting hatred. Indeed, even
before it was over, it had imbued the adversaries with a
dtede p jea nd agbcifd iingg cer easjp ectT tfo r etrh. e, , courage, prowess, endurance
S qaL ~ egrce xenrate in commemorating
the landing of the ANZACs on Gallipoli, and honouring those
who fought and fell there.
The Gallipoli campaign, of course, has a special and solemn
significance for Australians.
The Australian Commonwealth had been created only fourteen
years before. It was at Gallipoli, for the first time, that
the youth of Australia came together in the supreme ordeal
of war. In these fires were forged many of the qualities we
still most value in the Australian character. The events of
Gallipoli have never lost their hold on the minds and hearts
of the Australian people.
Tt~ jor thAn rP;, nnm C. a 11yr1 i rnAr~ Ad AM AtIn. h A
significant event in the development of Australian
nationhood. 6927
2
And in that context the context of our mature sense of
nationhood I should acknowledge the very welcome and
representative presence tonight of the Leader of the
opposition in the Australian Parliament, Dr John Hewson, who
accompanies me on this pilgrimage, not as a pcolitical
opponent, but as a parliamentary colleague.
As you have remarked, Mr Prime Minister, the Gallipoli
campaign also marked an important step towards the emergence
of modern Turkey.
It was through his brilliant defence of the Gallipoli
a, QZ -41la his exlozits O~ i thee f -nts in the~
First World War, that the great Mustapha Kema. Ataturkc
demonstrated the singular qualities of leadership which
enabled him subsequently to create the Turkish Republic.
It is remarkable to reflect that the tragedy of our first
encounter has been the source of nationhood for both our
countries. As you have noted, Mr Prime Minister, we are living through
a period of profound change in the world, a period, indeed
an epoch, not without its danqers certainly, but of immense
promise and hope.
But, even as we note and welcome the historic
transformation, in Eastern Europe especially, it is
important to acknowledge the continuing relevance of the
RO~~ ft LISS. TV~ tay, SOa M) O p~ rawafep ad, Ln
Asia;-PacTiC1Oregion, Australia. It is as important as ever
that we should maintain the strength and stabiLlity essential
to ensuring that the opportunities now beckoning achieve
their potential.
Australia and Turkey have achieved international
reconciliation and mutual understanding. These are the same
objectives which we must encourage in international
relations generally in the last decade of thii3 century, a
century which has seen such dreadful conflict, such
destructive antagonisms.
The encounter between our countries in war has been
transformed into a constructive relationship in peace.
Since the Tenth Anniversary of the Gallipoli landing was
sawaAeseated qjidt a b~ aeh seewasny an oallipIli in 1039,
thousands of Australians have visited your country to pay
homage to the fallen. In doing so they have increased
Australia's knowledge of Turkey and our regard for its
people. In 1985 on the 70th Anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, in
an exceptional gesture of friendship to a former foe, your
Government agreed to rename that part of the Gallipoli
Peninsula where the ANZAC landing took place, " Anzac Cove".
69328
To reciprocate this qesture we established the Ataturk
Memorial Garden in Canberra, within the precincts of the
Australian War Memorial.
The garden features a commemorative stone with a bas-relief
of Ataturk and an inscription of his tribute to his
opponents in the Gallipoli campaign. This memorable tribute,
written by Ataturk in 1934, is eloquent testimony to the
complete reconciliation of former enemies.
It reads: " Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their
IL-oo you avo snetp 1iv in * ho: coil ^ F a f4" I
country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no
difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us
where they lie side by side here in this country of
ours You, the mothers who sent their sons from far
away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now
lying in our bosoms and are in peace. After having lost
their lives on this land they have become our sons as
well".
These same words are inscribed on the memorial stone at
Anzac Cove.
We have also named a part of the Northern Shore of
Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin, " Gallipoli Reach" and the
entrance to Princess Royal Harbour in Albany, Western
Australia, from where the ANZACs sailed, " Ataturk Entrance".
Thoa oo* io airmbolA., o * ho S^". Aw raa'o aeA fr-ini~ ahip
which unite our nations, reinforced over the past twenty or
so years by migration from Turkey to Australia.
There are now over 60,000 people of Turkish origin in
Australia. The members of this community are making a
valuable contribution to Australia's multicultural society
and I an delighted that so many Turks have chosen to make
Australia their hone.
I myself have the honour of representing over 3,000 members
of the Turkish community who live in my own constituency in
Melbourne. mr Prime Minister, the talks I have had today with President
Ozal and yourself reflect the maturity of the relationship
which has developed between our two countries. Accordingly,
our widz ranging diaeueeaioro covorod tho full aoopo of
political, economic and trade issues of mutual interest,
including the rapid pace of change in Europe and the USSR,
developments in the Middle East, the need for a just
resolution f or Cyprus, and human rights.
I have been particularly impressed by the reports I have
seen and by what I have heard here in Ankara on the
South-Eastern Anatolia ( GAP) Project which will be one of
the world's great agricultural engineering feats. Australian 6929
companies are actively seeking to participate in this
project and assist in bringing it to successful completion.
It is indicative of the importance my Government attaches to
the further development of trade with Turkey that tomorrow,
in Istanbul, I will open a new Australian Consulate-General
and Trade Commission Office.
With the signature of the Trade and Economic Cooperation
Agreement between Australia and Turkey in 1988 we now have a
mechanism for regular consultations on trade and economic
cooperatioa&. w luuk CuLward Lu wuluuming a Turkish
0svarnman/ Duainas& Dl6g. sl. tv u. oL& alla latL". Lil. ywGL
for the first round of consultations under the Agreement.
Mr Prime Minister, we are indebted to you for the great
generosity and cooperation shown by the Turkish Government
at all levels in making this pilgr mage possible. There
could not be a stronger testimony to the nature of the
relationship between our countries than this visit we
Australians are making, the reason for that visit, and the
circumstances we attach to it.
I believe one can search the annals of war and not find a
parallel the honour, care and respect shown to the memory
of a departed enemy by a people who were defending
themselves against an invaderl and seventy five years later,
low the OUwV Vil~ q VLp~ IaoaaLaLi1vwa uf Li 1SLvabIUIS Lu LwLuLiE
to be the honoured guests of that people.
This in itself contains a great tribute to the spirit of the
people of Turkey.
Mr Prime Minister, the mutual respect between our nations
which was forged on the battlefields of Gallipoli has proved
to be a sound and enduring foundation for the warm and
substantial relationship which has developed between us, a
relationship which I am confident will continue to develop
and deepen in the years to come.
6930