Epress.am News from Armenia
Turkish officials have cancelled parades traditionally held every year to celebrate the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the province of Van on Sunday, plunging the nation into grief over a disaster that has left at least 570 people dead, Today’s Zaman reports.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül had also earlier cancelled an Oct. 29 reception commemorating the founding of the Turkish Republic due to the earthquake. A statement released by the Office of the President on Monday declared that the reception had been cancelled “while work continues to save any citizens found under the rubble and while our people continue to suffer deep grief.”
Republic Day commemorates the day Mustafa Kemal Atatürk proclaimed Turkey a republic.