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ISTANBUL: Document exhibit marks 90th year of Parliament

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  • ISTANBUL: Document exhibit marks 90th year of Parliament

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    Jan 6 2010


    Document exhibit marks 90th year of Parliament


    An exhibition titled `90 Documents in 90 Years,' showcasing pieces
    from the Turkish Parliament's archives, had its opening yesterday as
    part of ongoing celebrations to mark the assembly's 90th birthday.

    The opening ceremony was held at Parliament's Å?eref Hall with the
    participation of Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Å?ahin, Prime Minister
    Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and former Parliament Speakers Bülent Arınç,
    Köksal Toptan, Cahit KarakaÅ? and Ä°smet Sezgin. In his speech Å?ahin
    said that celebrations on April 23, 2010 would not be sufficient on
    the 90th birthday of Parliament to mark the honorable and important
    role that the body has played in Turkish history. He also thanked
    previous Parliament Speakers Arınç and Toptan for their work in
    Parliament before he took office.

    Expounding upon the exhibition Å?ahin explained that from amongst 12
    million documents in the Parliament Document and Archive General
    Directorate, 90 were chosen in particular that were from Parliament's
    earliest days. Noting that an exceedingly difficult task faced
    Turkey's first deputies, he said when Parliament first convened the
    only light the deputies had to meet by was two gas lamps rounded up at
    neighborhood coffeehouses.

    The documents on display as part of the exhibition include the minutes
    from a secret session held on Parliament's second day, the first
    verbal and written question motions submitted in Parliament, the
    original text of Gazi Mustafa Kemal PaÅ?a's (Atatürk) opening speech in
    Parliament from 1924, documents related to customs agreements between
    Parliament and Armenia, the law that entered the principle of
    secularism into the Constitution and the constitutional change that
    eliminated the death penalty.

    Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an toured the exhibition alongside Å?ahin and
    signed the exhibition guestbook, writing: `Beginning with Gazi Mustafa
    Kemal, I commemorate all of the [past] members of Parliament who made
    important contributions to the establishment of our republic. May
    their souls be happy.'



    06 January 2010, Wednesday
    TODAY'S ZAMAN ANKARA
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