President Ersin Tatar's statement on October 1 ‘Republic of Cyprus’ ceremonies in South Cyprus
President Tatar: “The Republic of Cyprus was a partnership, established by the Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People as equal partners. This partnership has been usurped and turned into an exclusively Greek Cypriot state. The Greek Cypriot side has no legitimate democratic, moral or ethical right to represent the Turkish Cypriot People.”
President Ersin Tatar issued a written statement with regards to the celebrations being held in South Cyprus that is being held to mark the establishment of the usurped ‘Republic of Cyprus’ partnership state – which had been established in 1960 by the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots as equal partners and signatories in its founding treaties.
President Tatar stated that the Greek Cypriot Side has expressed clearly that celebrations in South Cyprus have nothing to do with the partnership state that was founded on the basis of equality with the Turkish Cypriot People, who were expelled from the state apparatus by force of arms in December 1963. He said the Greek Cypriot Side had destroyed the partnership state and initiated island-wide attacks on the Turkish Cypriots as part of their annihilation plans in order to unite Cyprus with Greece. The President added that the Greek Cypriot Side usurped and turned the partnership state into an exclusively Greek Cypriot Administration. He said the a coup d'etat had been staged by the Greek Junta in July 1974, and the 'Hellenic Republic of Cyprus' declared.
Stating that the Greek Cypriot Side is continuing the illusion that they are the sole government of the island, President Tatar said: “The Greek Cypriot Side has no democratic, moral or ethical legitimacy to represent the whole island or the Turkish Cypriot People, who have equal inherent rights. However, despite these facts, the Greek Cypriot Side annually continue to mark the so-called independence of the state they usurped, which is not the ‘Republic of Cyprus’ that was originally established as a partnership between the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots.”
President Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot People have effectively been governing themselves after being expelled from the partnership State in 1963 and, for decades, have been living under the roof of their own State, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. “The Turkish Cypriot People are at the very least as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot People.
We have our own independent State and our own democracy and institutions,” he said.
In reference to his visit to New York for the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, President Tatar said: “I reiterated to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during my meeting with him, that a realistic and sustainable basis for a settlement can only be reached following the reaffirmation and acknowledgement of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People.” The President added that his policy, fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye, is for a viable settlement to be reached that is based on two neighbourly sovereign States that are in a cooperative relationship.
Stating that the Greek Cypriot leader is continuing to show “insincerity” and is “continuing to show an uncompromising approach”, President Tatar added: “Despite my call for dialogue and cooperation between the two Sides that is aimed at building trust, the Greek Cypriot leader is making statements with the sole aim of luring in and patching the Turkish Cypriot People onto the state they have usurped and turned exclusively into a Greek Cypriot entity. The realities in the Island of Cyprus are that on it there are two different and inherently equal Peoples – the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. Each are governing their own State and have their own democracies. The Greek Cypriot Side continues the hegemonic mentality that Cyprus is a Hellenic Island, and have shown on numerous counts that when it comes to the crunch, the Greek Cypriot Side do not want to share governance and the resources of the island with us on the basis of equality.”
President Tatar said that, as the exercises continue to determine whether common ground exists or not between the two Sides, the Turkish Cypriot Side has conveyed cooperation proposals across different areas, that will create a conducive atmosphere and trust between the two neighbouring Sides.
“If the Greek Cypriot leadership is sincere in wanting a dialogue, they will accept our cooperation proposals and we can immediately start working on these areas of cooperation that will definitely be of benefit to both Sides,” President Tatar said.
“One of the most important symbols of the status quo, which is accepted by all parties as unsustainable, the primary cause of which is the unfair and unlawful situation continuing for almost 60 years, was created by UN Security Council Resolution 186.
It should be known and understood that the structure in South Cyprus, which has been transformed into an exclusively Greek state since 1963, has no legitimate authority to represent neither the entire island nor the Turkish Cypriot People,” President Tatar said.
The President said that “it should be understood that TRNC is a reality that has been in existence for almost 40-years. It is an independent State with all its institutions and the Greek Cypriot Side has no authority over the TRNC".