Posted on 04/23/2007 4:48:59 PM PDT by jdm
Wellington - New Zealand's foreign ministry warned Tuesday of a 'strong likelihood' of terrorist attacks in Turkey as thousands of tourists head to Gallipoli to mark ANZAC Day on Wednesday.ANZAC Day commemorates the first major action of World War I for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps which launched an ill-fated assault on the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, 1915.
The assault was intended to give the British navy command of the Turkish-held Dardanelles, but turned into a long-drawn out disaster, ending eight months later at a cost of 2,721 New Zealand dead and more than 4,750 wounded.
Historians have described it as the then-British colony's first test of nationhood and its coming of age.
April 25 is remembered as ANZAC Day throughout the world and thousands of New Zealanders and Australians go to Gallipoli for commemorations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Turkish authorities had put in place extensive measures to ensure the safety and security of visitors to Gallipoli.
But it said there was a strong likelihood of terrorist activity in tourist areas, including Istanbul and Ankara, following attacks in recent months and it advised against non-essential travel to areas close to the border with Iraq.
OHH rack Kwiwis on this terror warning
I hate historical inaccuracies, so I feel driven to correct them.
In 1915, the former Australian colonies had been an independent nation for fourteen years. The former colony of New Zealand had been independent for seven years.
Technically it was the ratification of the Statute of Westminster that formed the formal declaration of independence for the Old Dominions. This is New Zealand’s official interpretation so that dates our independence in 1947 and this interpretation pushes Canada’s independence to be 1931 and Australia in 1942.
A dominion is, strictly speaking, a self-governing dependent territory rather than an independent country.
I’m an historian and a history teacher, and I’ve had to look at this in a fair amount of detail.
Independence, in my view, came before the ratification of the Statute of Westminster. That merely formalised the Dominions exercising an independent foreign policy - they were permitted to do so, prior to ratification however, and Australia did so considerably before 1942 in a few cases.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.