President Ersin Tatar commemorates 1 August Social Resistance day
“It is our greatest debt to our children to continue the successes we have achieved as a People who have proclaimed their own State, and to enhance the status of our State”
President Ersin Tatar has issued a written statement in commemoration of August 1 Social Resistance Day, which marks the 47th anniversary of the establishment of the Security Forces Command (GKK), the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT) and the 452nd anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus.
The written statement reads as follows:
“We are once again commemorating three important anniversaries: The Ottoman conquest of the Island of Cyprus in 1571; the establishment of the TMT in 1958 in order to defend the Turkish Cypriot People against the fascist EOKA terrorist organisation and the establishment of the GKK in 1976. We are celebrating these important anniversaries as our Social Resistance Day with great belief and excitement.
Our heroic and self-sacrificing people did not bow to the Greek Cypriots and did not allow the honour and dignity of our people to be trampled over. The Turkish Cypriot People also defended themselves in the face of island wide attacks between 1963 to 1974 by Greek-Greek Cypriot forces and the EOKA terrorist organisation, and prevented Cyprus from becoming a Hellenic Island by pursuing the epic struggle that was waged under the most difficult conditions in the days of the national struggle under the leadership of the TMT and with the support of Motherland Türkiye.
Our People made the ultimate sacrifices in this struggle, paid a heavy price, burying their children and loved ones in these lands and suffered a great multitude of pain and loss.
The Turkish Cypriot People waged a national struggle to coexist as inherent equals and, through national solidarity, resisted the aspiration of the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo to turn Cyprus into a Hellenic Island. Following the coup d’état by the Greek junta on July 15, 1974 and the declaration of the ‘Hellenic Republic of Cyprus’, the Republic of Türkiye, in accordance with the obligations enshrined in the Treaty of Guarantee, undertook the Cyprus Peace Operation. The Turkish Cypriot People have been independent and able to live freely under the roof of their own State with the protection and security provided by Motherland Türkiye.
The sovereignty and the legitimate rights of Turkish Cypriots, who have the right of self-determination, is not open for debate or discussion. The Turkish Cypriot People have made these lands their homeland for 452 years and have inherent equal rights.
Today, our greatest responsibility towards our people and to future generations is to protect our homeland where we all can live in freedom and in security in our own State, and to enhance the status of our State with all its institutions and organisations. It is our greatest debt to our children to continue the success we have achieved as a People who have proclaimed their own State and to enhance the status of our State.
I sincerely believe that our country will reach a more prosperous future with the continuation of protocols signed between the governments of the Republic of Türkiye and the TRNC, which will pave the way for more infrastructure investments, reforms and strengthening of our economy.
In 2020, the People approved my new policy and vision for a settlement and elected me to office.
This new policy, which is fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye, and which is beneficial to the island of Cyprus and the region, is the most realistic basis for a settlement as the previous basis has been exhausted having failed on numerous occasions over many years.
There is a need for the sovereign equality and equal international status of the two existing States to be reaffirmed in order for new and formal negotiations to be started, which is the message we are communicating to the international community.
The Turkish Cypriot Side, together with the support of Motherland Türkiye, is in favour of diplomacy and dialogue, however this should not be interpreted to mean that we will bow to the hegemonic and maximalist stance of the Greek Cypriot Side.
A new page has been opened following the historical call by President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during his address at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2022, where he invited the international community to formally recognise the TRNC. This call was followed by the acceptance of the TRNC as an observer member under its constitutional name to the Organisation of Turkic States of which we are an indispensable part, at the 9th summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
These developments have added strength to our cause, and I reiterate that in this new period I will be continuing this sacred struggle in a determined manner together with the support of Motherland Türkiye.
I commemorate with respect and gratitude all our martyrs who sacrificed their lives from the moment the island was made a Turkish homeland, our veterans and our People. May all our martyrs rest in eternal peace..."