President Ersin Tatar and First Lady Sibel Tatar took part in the main parade commemorating the 38th anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.


The ceremony, which was held at the Dr Fazıl Küçük Bulvarı in Lefkoşa, was also attended by the Republic of Turkey Vice President Fuat Oktay, Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu and other high level officials, civil groups and members of the public.


In his speech at the ceremony, President Tatar stated that one of the happiest days of the Turkish Cypriot people was November 15, 1983 and said that the anniversary of the proclamation of TRNC, which came about following an “honourable struggle for existence and sacrifices”, was once again being celebrated with great excitement and deep feeling of patriotism for the homeland.


President Tatar said that “in order to be able to walk to the future with confident steps, there is a need to assess the past correctly and to take the appropriate lessons. This is necessary to continue to progress in our national and sacred struggle for existence as one of the two co-owners of Cyprus.”


“If we, as the Turkish Cypriot people, can live freely in our own homeland, holding our heads high and with dignity today, we owe gratitute and hearty thanks to our heroic people,  our dear martyrs, veterans and national heroes, who paid every price without hesitation,” the President said., adding: “We owe it to our glorious ancestors, from former Turkish Cypriot Leader Dr Fazıl Küçük to Founding President Rauf Raif Denktaş, and to the Republic of Turkey".


Stating that the Greek Cypriot side called for a return to the ‘Republic of Cyprus’, which has become a solely Greek Cypriot run state after Turkish Cypriots – whose rights were usurped -- were forced out at gunpoint from the state apparatus, the President emphasised that “the Greek Cypriot side continue to dream of assimilating the Turkish Cypriots over a period of time and for us to be patched onto that usurped administration. This is not going to happen”.


President Tatar added: “Because of this illusion, they [Greek Cypriots] rejected all proposals in the negotiations that have been going on for decades, and they also rejected the Annan Plan, which was put to a simultaneous and separate referenda for the first time in the history of the Cyprus negotiations. As the process that started in 2008 collapsed in Crans Montana in July 2017, the Greek Cypriot side rejected our equality and continued to make demands for a solution that would pave the way for a Cyprus that will become a Greek-dominated state with zero soldiers, zero guarantees.”


President Tatar stated that the “negotiations, which have been ongoing for many years on the basis of a federal solution, has been exhausted”.  He said that a negotiation process would not be entered into “without the acceptance of sovereign equality and equal political status” of the Turkish Cypriot side. Noting that a just and sustainable solution in Cyprus can be reached on the basis of two States and the sovereign equality of the two sides, President Tatar said: "As a President elected with the free will of the Turkish Cypriot people, we have opened the door to a new era with our new vision that can produce solutions to the problems on and around the island, instead of stepping into new problems and an uncertain future in Cyprus”.


President Tatar stated that he presented a six-point proposal for a permanent solution to the UN at the five-plus-UN informal meeting in Geneva, Switzerland last April, and together with this proposal, he brought to the negotiation table for the first time the existence of two sovereign, equal, separate States and the proposal for a solution based on institutional cooperation.  


Noting that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will live forever with the support of motherland Turkey, President Tatar thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot people for the “solidarity and support they have always given to the TRNC in every field”.


President Tatar also said that the Maraş opening brought a new dimension to the Cyprus issue.  “Maraş is under our sovereignty and is TRNC territory,” the President said. “While this initiative was one of the turning points of the Cyprus issue, a part of the fenced-off area of Maraş has been removed from being a military status and the rightful owners have been given the opportunity to get seek an effective legal remedy for the respective properties which includes being able to get their property back," he said.


President Tatar said that while critical developments are taking place in Cyprus, the eastern Mediterranean has turned into a struggle over hydrocarbon resources, and the main objective here is to demolish the TRNC, which is one of the main points of Turkish sovereignty, and to remove Motherland Turkey from the eastern Mediterranean.

President Tatar stated that one of the main reasons for the tension is that the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo are continuing their armament activities due to their intransigent approaches and hegemonic mentality. “As the Turkish Cypriot people, we are determined to protect our rights in the seas surrounding the Island of Cyprus. On this occasion, I repeat once again our proposal for cooperation with our neighbour in Southern Cyprus, to benefit from hydrocarbon riches on the basis of sovereign equality.”


Emphasising that any initiative that excludes Turkey and the TRNC in the eastern Mediterranean has no chance of success, President Tatar noted that legitimate rights will be defended and stated that they will work to the end to keep the TRNC alive forever.