President Ersin Tatar opened the exhibition “Before Traces Disappear” which feature photographs of structures, mosques and monuments of the Ottomans located in Southern Cyprus.

President Tatar, who addressed the ceremony on Wednesday that was attended by municipal officials from the TRNC and Türkiye, veterans, representatives of civil organisations, academics and members of the press,  said: “This exhibition features photographs of important Ottoman and Turkish structures and villages located in different parts of the Greek Cypriot Administration, including mosques, buildings and structures.  Whilst commending the organisers, I wish for this exhibition and such like to shed light on history and to contribute to keeping social memory alive.”

Stressing that the Ottoman Empire had ruled the Island of Cyprus for more than 350 years, President Tatar stated that “many beautiful architectural structures exist that form part of the cultural heritage of our Island”.

President Tatar stated that the Turkish Cypriot People had defended their lands after Britain leased the Island of Cyprus from the Ottomans in 1878, and said that the following years for Turkish Cypriots had been filled with a “struggle and suffering”.   He explained that Cyprus had gained its independence from Britain, with sovereignty being passed on equally to the two Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot Peoples. “This partnership state was however destroyed in December 1963 by the Greek Cypriot Side, as part of their long-standing aspiration to unite Cyprus with Greece (ENOSIS).  The Turkish Cypriots were expelled from the state apparatus of the republic by force of arms, and island-wide attacks by Greek-Greek Cypriot forces and EOKA terrorists were initiated and continued between 1963 to 1974.”

Stating that Motherland Türkiye, as one of the guarantor powers, was obliged to take action to stop the acts of genocide and atrocities against the Turkish Cypriot People, President Tatar said: “In 1974, Türkiye undertook the Cyprus Peace Operation that brought peace to the Island. Following the Exchange of Population Agreement in 1975, the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot populations voluntarily moved to the North and South, respectively.”

President Tatar stated that the “Turkish side put forward arduous efforts at different negotiation processes for a settlement to be reached in Cyprus,” adding that “despite these efforts, the Greek Cypriot Side has rejected at least 15 federal-based settlement plans, for more than half-a-century”.  He said there was a separately held simultaneous  referanda in 2004, when the Greek Cypriots voted against a UN Comprehensive Settlement [Annan] Plan by 76 per cent, which in contrast was accepted  by the Turkish Cypriots by 65 per cent.   President Tatar explained that a “final attempt” was made for an equality-based federal settlement, which again collapsed in Crans-Montana in July 2017, because of the refusal of the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot Side to “share power and the resources” of the island on the basis of equality with the Turkish Cypriot People.

“Therefore, we are saying that it is time we think outside the federal box. Federal based negotiations held for more than half-a-century have been tried, failed and exhausted,” President Tatar said, adding:  “A realistic and sustainable settlement can be reached on the basis of good neighbourly relations and the co-existence of two States that are in a cooperative relationship”.  Stating  that they wanted the “sovereign equality and …