Turkish president meets with youngsters via video link

By Sevil Celik and Saniye Hulya Corakci Ertan

ISTANBUL (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday met with the young Turkish people via videoconference to mark the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day.

Addressing the Turkish youth, Erdogan said that it was never a coincidence to present a day with such deep meaning to the young people.

May 19 is a milestone in Turkish history, the day when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul in 1919 to launch the war that transformed the nation into modern Turkey four years later.

Ataturk dedicated May 19 to the youth of the Turkish nation as Youth and Sports Day -- a national holiday that sees young people stage sporting and cultural activities and official ceremonies organized across the nation.

“May 19 is a source of pride for our nation, full of glorious victories and struggles, and an inspiration for our youngsters,” Erdogan said.

“Young people in Turkey are now lighting up the way in our country in all spheres of life,” he added.

The Turkish president also said that 93 new student dormitories will open in the country by 2022.

Erdogan also added that Turkey will continue to actively use dormitories for a while in the fight against the novel coronavirus as especially people coming from abroad are spending 14-day quarantine period in these buildings.