President Ersin Tatar opens the Rauf Raif Denktaş Photography Exhibition
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President Ersin Tatar has paid tribute to the Founding President, late Rauf Raif Denktaş, at the opening of a photographic exhibition attributed to him.
President Tatar, who is on a visit to the Turkish City of Trabzon, participated in the opening of the “Rauf Raif Denktaş Photographic Exhibition”, where he expressed that he is “happy to be visiting the Black Sea region and the City of Trabzon”. Conveying the “warm greetings and love of the people from the TRNC,” President Tatar said that the TRNC is an “independent Turkish State in the eastern Mediterranean”.
The President, who explained the historical struggle of the Turkish Cypriot People to co-exist as inherent equals on the Island of Cyprus, said: “Cyprus is a national issue, and our inherent rights, including our sovereign equality and equal international status that is enshrined in international treaties and from history, cannot be taken away from us.”
Explaining that there was an aspiration by the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo to unite Cyprus to Greece (ENOSIS), President Tatar added: “The struggle waged by the Turkish Cypriot People, who were expelled from the state apparatus of the partnership republic we had established in 1960 together with the Greek Cypriots, was to defend our dignity, our sovereignty and freedom. The partnership state only lived for three years because their intention always was, as Archbishop Makarios put it, to use this republic as a springboard for ENOSIS.”
President Tatar explained that the Founding President, Rauf Raif Denktaş, a lawyer who devoted his entire life to the Turkish Cypriot cause, had together with Dr. Fazıl Küçük led the People in the face of island-wide attacks from 1963 to 1974.
President Tatar explained that Mr. Denktaş participated in many negotiations for a settlement, which were all rejected by the Greek Cypriot Side.
“Our Founding President proclaimed our State, the TRNC, on November 15, 1983,” President Tatar explained. “He has left us a very important will and testament. He left us the sovereign and independent TRNC – which we shall continue to work to have formally recognised - and the will for the Turkish guarantees to continue forever.” President Tatar emphasised that Founding President Denktaş wanted to be remembered as the person who had ensured the arrival of the Turkish forces, who stopped the atrocities and brought peace to the Island of Cyprus as well as freedom to the Turkish Cypriot people.
Stating that TRNC is walking towards the future with confidence and peace together with Motherland Türkiye, President Tatar stated that the geopolitical eastern Mediterranean region is important, and that the Island of Cyprus lies just 40 miles off the coast of Türkiye.
“It is therefore imperative that we continue our effective existence in the eastern Mediterranean, in the Blue Homeland, defending our legitimate rights and interests with the support of Türkiye, for security, prosperity and peace,” President Tatar said.
In speeches by other officials at the opening of the exhibition, President Tatar was thanked for his visit to the city, and the late Dr. Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş were commemorated with respect. Support was given to the TRNC, and an emphasis was made on the support of Türkiye to the TRNC at every level.
President Tatar also examined the flags of the Republic of Türkiye and the TRNC that were drawn on the wall opposite the exhibition hall. Photographs of the visit were taken and President Tatar signed the Memoir Book.