President Ersin Tatar participates in the ceremony commemorating the martyrs of Taşpınar
Photos
President Ersin Tatar has participated in a ceremony held on Thursday to commemorate the martyrs of Taşpınar.
The ceremony, which started with the laying of wreaths and flowers at the Taşpınar Martyrdom, continued with a minute’s silence and the playing of the national anthem.
Gülten Çağla Uluşan, a schoolteacher of the Doğancı Primary School, delivered a speech on the importance of the day.
In his speech at the ceremony, President Tatar stressed that the TRNC is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, and said “in all the ceremonies, we have remembered with respect and gratitude our martyrs and paid tribute to the sacrifice they made for the Turkish Cypriot cause and the struggle for our people to live in peace and freedom”.
Stating that the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo had carried out an attempted genocide of Turkish Cypriots between 1963 to 1974 under their long-standing aspiration to unite Cyprus with Greece, President Tatar said: “These brutal attacks were carried out on Turkish Cypriot civilians, who were outnumbered, outgunned and under siege. Our heroic martyrs died whilst defending their village and loved ones from the attacks. I pay tribute to our martyrs, for it was through their efforts and sacrifices that Turkish Cypriot People were able to reach the days of peace and security which we enjoy today. Expressing our deepest respect and gratitude, we vow that they will never be forgotten ”
President Tatar stated that Turkish Cypriots “paid a heavy price” in their determination to live as sovereign equals and to protect their inherent rights, adding: “The international community witnessed the atrocities inflicted on us in Cyprus. We were reborn out of our ashes following the Cyprus Peace Operation that was started on July 20, 1974, and the epic struggle carried out by the Turkish soldiers (Mehmetçik) and the Turkish Cypriot soldiers (Mujahedeen).”
Stressing that the world is today watching the brutality and oppression currently taking place in Gaza, President Tatar stated that the international community “had also remained spectators to the violence and attacks perpetrated against the Turkish Cypriot People in the 1960s”. He added: “Despite the passing of so many years. . .and a change in the values of humanity, the powerful countries of the world are again remaining as spectators to the oppression”.
President Tatar referred to the latest statements by the Prime Minister of Greece and said: “The statements clearly demonstrated the mentality that purports deepening of the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot People, severing our links from Türkiye, and a refusal of the inclusion of Türkiye in a settlement in Cyprus. We will not fall into such traps. We could never comprehend placing our people in such danger. The Cyprus national cause is continuing.”
Stating that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, had recently made important statements at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, President Tatar said: “President Erdoğan has once again underlined that Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot People have had enough on the issue of federalism. I find these expressions to be very meaningful. The Turkish Cypriot Side has, over many decades, with the support of Türkiye, put forward arduous efforts for an equality-based settlement, to no avail. The Greek Cypriot Side has refused to share power and prosperity with the Turkish Cypriot People, which has been demonstrated time and again, which were lastly noted in the Annan Plan in April 2004, and Crans-Montana in July 2017. However, despite the good faith and sincerity of the Turkish Cypriot Side's desire for settlement, our people have continued to be deprived of their human rights, and the isolation and restrictions are continuing, which the Greek Cypriots believe will compel us to bow to the pressure, and become patched on to the state they usurped by force of arms. This is far from being sincere and does not tally with good intentions.”
Emphasising that “if there is going to be a settlement in Cyprus, the TRNC, as a sovereign Turkish State, will be a party to the settlement”, President Tatar also stated that the guarantee of Türkiye and the presence of the Turkish army “is tantamount to being a lifeline for the Turkish Cypriot People”.
President Tatar wished for all martyrs and veterans to rest in peace, and he wished their bereaved loved ones and families patience and strength.
The ceremony concluded with the recitation of prayers.