"Turkey is secular and will remain secular!" chanted protesters waving Turkish flags and banners.
The capital's governor last week banned a planned pro-secular rally citing fears that "some groups may seek to incite anarchy in the country." But Monday, over 30 civil society groups, led by the Youth Union of Turkey, still took to the streets.
Tens of thousands gathered in Ankara's old city to march to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the secular republic on October 29, 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
"We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal!" shouted the demonstrators, who have been angered by an Islamic bent demonstrated recently by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Since Erdogan first occupied the PM's seat in 2003, his government has pushed a number of democratic reforms to bring Turkey closer to EU standards, such as abolishment of many restrictions on freedom of speech and the press.
But a recent education reform has been slammed by opposition groups as "promoting more Korans in schools and veil wearing." Other criticisms stem from Erdogan's strong political personality, with many suspecting the PM of "elected sultan" ambitions.
In recent years, Republic Day celebrations have become a common date to mark the country's fears for its secular traditions. But as on Monday demonstrators failed to reach Mustafa Kemal's mausoleum, where Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and other top officials had laid wreaths hours earlier.
"Great Ataturk... We stand before you with the pride of being a country that is improving its democracy, protecting human rights and freedoms, strengthening its economy and maintaining reforms. We are trying our best to surpass the level of contemporary civilization, to maintain the basic values of our republic," President Gul wrote in the special ceremonial register at the mausoleum.
© AFP Photo / Adem AltanRiot police use tear gas and water canons to disperse the crowd as thousands of people holding national flags marched to the mausoleum of Ataturk to celebrate the country's Republic Day in Ankara, on October 29, 2012.
© AFP Photo / Adem AltanThe Ankara governor's office has banned the Republic Day rally, arguing that the state's security services received intelligence that groups might be planning "provocative" actions.
© AFP Photo / Adem AltanThousands of people holding national flags gather at the mausoleum of Ataturk to celebrate the country's Republic Day in Ankara, on October 29, 2012.
Reader Comments
"We stand before you with the pride of being a country that is improving its democracy, protecting human rights and freedoms, strengthening its economy and maintaining reforms."
This is a very big lie. They are not improving democracy at all and certainly not protecting human rights and freedoms - when there are so many reporters and writers in prison. There is no justice left when people are accused for reading their defense in court, their lawyers arrested. This is a fascist state not a democratic one.
There was over a million people in Ankara and they broke the barricades and marched - not counting the buses that were not allowed to enter Ankara or allowed to leave other cities heading for Ankara.