President Ersin Tatar attends the sapling planting event in Ankara in memory of 49 TRNC citizens who lost their lives in the catastrophic earthquakes in Türkiye
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President Ersin Tatar has paid tribute to the champion angels volleyball team and the “legacy they have left behind for future generations” -- in an address at the sapling planting event in Ankara – held in memory of the 49 TRNC citizens who lost their lives in the catastrophic earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023, in the Republic of Türkiye.
Saplings were planted at the Ankara Altındağ Municipality TRNC Park and Cyprus Martyrs’ Memorial Forest on Wednesday.
In his address at the event, President Ersin Tatar emphasised the “meaning and importance of today” and thanked the Mayor of Altındağ for the “interest and value shown to the Turkish Cypriot people,” which he said “is another show of the unbreakable and strong bonds that exists between the People of Motherland Türkiye and the TRNC”.
President Tatar commemorated the champion angels volleyball team of the Türk Maarif College of Gazimağusa, their teachers and families, who were lost in the earthquakes on February 6 during their visit to Türkiye, and stated that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus “experienced an indescribable pain”. The champion angels, teachers and some family members were staying at the Isias hotel in Adıyaman which collapsed in the earthquake.
Emphasising that the State is “working to keep the memories and names of the champion angels alive, which we see as a duty,” President Tatar drew attention to the “significance of the saplings being planted in the name of 49 TRNC citizens who were lost in the earthquake, which is important in keeping their names alive forever”.
“We are working to take the necessary measures to minimise the risks of loss of life in the earthquake zone. Legal and other regulations shall be passed for this purpose, and we are also closely following the legal case in relation to the Isias hotel,” President Tatar said.
President Tatar stressed his “utmost trust in Turkish justice,” and said, “it is our duty to follow this case, for justice to be served, to at least partially alleviate the pain of the families who lost their loved ones”.
Thanking the organisers for the sapling planting event, President Tatar said: “The names of our champion angels will be kept alive forever. They have become an iconic symbol and an inspiration to our youth with the legacy they have left behind for future generations.”
President Tatar also expressed his wish for the attacks in Palestine-Israel to be ended as soon as possible and for diplomacy to prevail, because of the catastrophe being caused from these attacks and the significant loss of life. President Tatar invited the UN to take action to bring peace and to defuse the escalation in the region as soon as possible.
Altındağ Mayor Asım Balcı stated that “TRNC Park and Cyprus Martyrs Memorial Forest are the symbol of the permanent love and martyrs between the two peoples”.
Mr Balcı, who paid respect and commemorated the martyrs, said that the “saplings to be planted today in memory of the TRNC citizens who were caught in the earthquake in Adıyaman and other earthquake regions and lost their lives will grow every day and their memories will be kept alive forever”.
Minister of Finance Özdemir Berova, TRNC Ambassador to Ankara İsmet Korukoğlu and TRNC Champion Angels Preservation Association Chairperson Ruşen Karakaya also attended the sapling planting event.
Children released balloons into the sky in memory of the children who lost their lives at the start of the event.