Turkey quietly celebrates 100-year anniversary as a republic

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Turkey is commemorating its 100-year anniversary as a republic, but many of the festivities planned for Sunday have been called off against the backdrop of Israel’s escalating attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip.
The low-profile affair shows the far-reaching impacts of the bloody Israel-Gaza war but also brings up uncomfortable divisions within Turkish society over the state’s secular legacy, elements of which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to challenge.
On Sunday, Erdogan laid a customary wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s revered founding father. “Our country is in safe hands, you may rest in peace,” he said.