Statement of President Ersin Tatar to the people who are attending the silent vigil on 21 December 2022 in London, in commemoration of Turkish Cypriots who were martyred during the Bloody Christmas massacre in 1963
The statement of President Ersin Tatar reads as follows:
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots worldwide are marking the anniversary of Bloody Christmas – a dark period in the history of the island of Cyprus, when Greek Cypriot EOKA terrorists launched island-wide attacks against Turkish Cypriots as part of the aspiration to annex Cyprus to Greece (ENOSIS), on December 21, 1963.
Turkish Cypriots were expulsed from the state apparatus of the partnership republic that was established on the basis of equality just three years earlier, using it, as Archbishop Makarios himself had stated, as a springboard for ENOSIS.
More than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots were forced to leave 103 villages which were attacked, and hundreds of our people were martyred.
It is important to remember the atrocities and the struggle of the Turkish Cypriots who defended their sovereign and equal inherent rights, and who were determined to live in freedom in dignity.
With these thoughts, I wish to extend my gratitude to the people taking part in the silent vigil being held on the 21 December in London, UK, that has been organised by British Turkish Cypriot Association, Young Turkish Cypriots and Embargoed!.
Your silent vigil is important in not only paying respect to our martyrs who sacrificed their lives, but also shouting to the world that Turkish Cypriots were saved with the Turkish Peace operation in 1974 which stopped bloodshed as well as bringing peace to the island of Cyprus and freedom to the Turkish Cypriot people who, for 11 years, had faced grave injustices, pain and suffering.