President Ersin Tatar commemorates Eid-al-Fitr (Bayram)
President Ersin Tatar issued the following message in commemoration of Eid al-Fitr (Bayram), expressing his best wishes for peace and prosperity to the Turkish Cypriot people, the Turkish nation and the Islamic world.
“We are this year commemorating Eid-al-Fitr (Bayram) following the devastating earthquakes that occurred in Motherland Türkiye in February, which resulted in the loss of significant number of lives including our Champion Angels and citizens.
We are celebration Bayram once again in these lands we have known as our homeland since 1571.
May this holy occasion be one of blessing for the Turkish Cypriot People, the Turkish nation and the Islamic world. My greatest wish and expectation is for peace and tranquillity to prevail all over the world, and for disasters that have inflicted so much pain and suffering not to occur ever again.
Whilst wishing for peace, prosperity and solidarity of humankind to prevail all over the world, we are witnessing with sadness attacks on religious and holy places which are sacred for the Islamic world. The continuing Ukraine-Russia war, other conflicts, massacres, terrorism and violence in other parts of the world are also causing us great sadness. May there be no more suffering and pain inflicted on human beings and may all wars and conflicts come to an end.
With regards to the Cyprus issue, our sincere aim is to reach a just, lasting and sustainable settlement in Cyprus, that is based on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People. Negotiations under a federal basis, which also aims to demolish the Guarantee of the Republic of Türkiye, remove the Turkish forces from the island of Cyprus and to make Turkish Cypriots a minority, have been exhausted.
A settlement that is based on the existence of two sovereign equal States that are in a cooperative relationship will benefit the island of Cyprus and the region. The basis of this new policy has been further strengthened following the historic call by the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he invited the international community to formally recognise the TRNC. Furthermore, our two State policy has also started to yield tangible outcomes, another significant development being the TRNC becoming an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States under our constitutional name. These important developments shall be continued.
Whilst we commemorate these holy days, I wish to call upon the Greek Cypriot Side to stop its armament activities that is only serving to escalate tensions between the two Sides, and to respond to our calls for dialogue. However, we are regretfully observing the activities in Southern Cyprus that the EOKA terrorist organisation, which caused bloodshed in Cyprus in the recent past, is continuing to be glorified. We continue to witness their hostility and hatred towards the Turkish people as they chant “Turks out of Cyprus”. These are products of an out-dated mentality that exists in the Greek Cypriot leadership which remains unchanged.This hegemonic mentality and behaviour only serves to undermine efforts to reach a settlement in Cyprus.
It should not be forgotten that the island of Cyprus has two co-owners, and that Turkish Cypriot People, are at the least as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot People, and have the same inherent rights and status. I wish to reiterate that the Turkish Cypriot People will never give up our own State, our sovereignty, the guarantee of Motherland Türkiye and the Turkish forces, who brought peace to the island in 1974.
As the Turkish Cypriot People, we did not arrive to these days easily after we were expelled from the state apparatus of the partnership republic we co-founded by force of arms in 1963, because of the continued aspiration to unite Cyprus with Greece. Between 1963 to 1974, we lived in ghettos, driven out of 103 Turkish villages, forced to live squeezed in three per cent of the island’s territory, and were being attacked island-wide. Turkish Cypriot People resisted all kinds of suffering, acts of genocide, poverty, hardship and inhuman attacks. The existence of some social and economic problems in our country today should not mean that we will give up our State and sovereignty.
We will overcome these problems by trusting each other and through solidarity and cooperation. Despite all the attacks against our country and our State, we will achieve this with the help and contributions of Motherland Türkiye.
These religious holidays are very important in terms of showing respect, love and tolerance to one another, and is a time of showing solidarity and togetherness. It is a period of ending resentments, sharing and being charitable. It is our greatest duty to protect these moral values, to keep them alive and to pass them on to future generations. Let us protect these important values together for our existence and future.
On this the Eid al-Fitr, I once again remember with gratitude and respect all our martyrs and veterans. I commemorate with love our champion angels we lost in the earthquake disaster. May they all rest in eternal peace. We will not forget them.
I also greet with sincere affection the Turkish Cypriot people, all our citizens living abroad, the Turkish nation and the Islamic world. I wish you all health, happiness and well-being.”
We are celebration Bayram once again in these lands we have known as our homeland since 1571.
May this holy occasion be one of blessing for the Turkish Cypriot People, the Turkish nation and the Islamic world. My greatest wish and expectation is for peace and tranquillity to prevail all over the world, and for disasters that have inflicted so much pain and suffering not to occur ever again.
Whilst wishing for peace, prosperity and solidarity of humankind to prevail all over the world, we are witnessing with sadness attacks on religious and holy places which are sacred for the Islamic world. The continuing Ukraine-Russia war, other conflicts, massacres, terrorism and violence in other parts of the world are also causing us great sadness. May there be no more suffering and pain inflicted on human beings and may all wars and conflicts come to an end.
With regards to the Cyprus issue, our sincere aim is to reach a just, lasting and sustainable settlement in Cyprus, that is based on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People. Negotiations under a federal basis, which also aims to demolish the Guarantee of the Republic of Türkiye, remove the Turkish forces from the island of Cyprus and to make Turkish Cypriots a minority, have been exhausted.
A settlement that is based on the existence of two sovereign equal States that are in a cooperative relationship will benefit the island of Cyprus and the region. The basis of this new policy has been further strengthened following the historic call by the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he invited the international community to formally recognise the TRNC. Furthermore, our two State policy has also started to yield tangible outcomes, another significant development being the TRNC becoming an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States under our constitutional name. These important developments shall be continued.
Whilst we commemorate these holy days, I wish to call upon the Greek Cypriot Side to stop its armament activities that is only serving to escalate tensions between the two Sides, and to respond to our calls for dialogue. However, we are regretfully observing the activities in Southern Cyprus that the EOKA terrorist organisation, which caused bloodshed in Cyprus in the recent past, is continuing to be glorified. We continue to witness their hostility and hatred towards the Turkish people as they chant “Turks out of Cyprus”. These are products of an out-dated mentality that exists in the Greek Cypriot leadership which remains unchanged.This hegemonic mentality and behaviour only serves to undermine efforts to reach a settlement in Cyprus.
It should not be forgotten that the island of Cyprus has two co-owners, and that Turkish Cypriot People, are at the least as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot People, and have the same inherent rights and status. I wish to reiterate that the Turkish Cypriot People will never give up our own State, our sovereignty, the guarantee of Motherland Türkiye and the Turkish forces, who brought peace to the island in 1974.
As the Turkish Cypriot People, we did not arrive to these days easily after we were expelled from the state apparatus of the partnership republic we co-founded by force of arms in 1963, because of the continued aspiration to unite Cyprus with Greece. Between 1963 to 1974, we lived in ghettos, driven out of 103 Turkish villages, forced to live squeezed in three per cent of the island’s territory, and were being attacked island-wide. Turkish Cypriot People resisted all kinds of suffering, acts of genocide, poverty, hardship and inhuman attacks. The existence of some social and economic problems in our country today should not mean that we will give up our State and sovereignty.
We will overcome these problems by trusting each other and through solidarity and cooperation. Despite all the attacks against our country and our State, we will achieve this with the help and contributions of Motherland Türkiye.
These religious holidays are very important in terms of showing respect, love and tolerance to one another, and is a time of showing solidarity and togetherness. It is a period of ending resentments, sharing and being charitable. It is our greatest duty to protect these moral values, to keep them alive and to pass them on to future generations. Let us protect these important values together for our existence and future.
On this the Eid al-Fitr, I once again remember with gratitude and respect all our martyrs and veterans. I commemorate with love our champion angels we lost in the earthquake disaster. May they all rest in eternal peace. We will not forget them.
I also greet with sincere affection the Turkish Cypriot people, all our citizens living abroad, the Turkish nation and the Islamic world. I wish you all health, happiness and well-being.”