 November 10, 2007, marked the 69th anniversary of the death of
Turkey's beloved Atatürk. Bilkent University commemorated the landmark date with a
program in memory of Atatürk.
The day began at Bilkent's Atatürk Monument with a moment of silence. This was followed
by a "November 10th Oratorio," performed by the students of the Faculty of Music
and Performing Arts, held in the Mithat Çoruh Auditorium.
During the Commemoration, Prof. Osman Gürzumar, Dean of the Faculty of Law, spoke in
memory of Atatürk, focusing on his Legal Reforms and the Turkish Civil Code. He began his
speech by quoting Atatürk:
 "I would like to mention that the approval of the Criminal,
Civil and Commercial Codes to be submitted to the noble Assembly is an urgent issue. We
must discard the old rules and accept a new way of life for the Republic of Turkey.
We
are trying to undertake the introduction of new legislative codes by abolishing old law
principles
.In this process, the only guarantee that we will have is that we will be
able to guide the fate of our own nation and it's revolutions."
Prof. Gürzumar noted the significance of Atatürk's words in illustrating his
determination and realism. He added that the essence of the legal reforms for the new
Republic was a radical dismantling of the defective parts of the Turkish modernization
process that began in the Tanzimat era, and the reception of the Swiss Civil Code
in Turkey.
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