President Tatar's statement is as follows:

 

“Whilst the Peace Operation was continuing, 36-year-old Emine Rüstem Akansoy and her  four children, 15-year-old Sezin Akansoy, 13-year-old Mustafa Akansoy, 12-year-old Erbay Akansoy, and eight-year-old Sibel Akansoy, were murdered by Greek Cypriots in Muratağa on August 14, 1974 and buried in a mass grave.  Forty-seven years later, after their identities were determined, they were buried in the Muratağa Sandallar Martyrdom.  I wish mercy once again to our martyrs and extend my condolences to the bereaved families and relatives. I share their great pain with all my heart.

 

Our struggle is to prevent this pain and suffering from recurring and to prevent our mothers and children from being murdered and buried in mass graves and not to return to those dark, painful and brutal days.  Our main goal is for our people to live freely, with their heads up, in security in this land we call our homeland.  In this respect, the presence of Turkish army in Cyprus and Turkey’s active and effective guarantee is indispensable for the Turkish Cypriot people. 


The civil ceremony for our five martyrs in the Muratağa Sandallar Cemetery was held in line with the family's request, instead of a state ceremony. 

Some of our martyrs were not buried with a state ceremony in the past either, in line with the request of their families.   However, these martyrs are the children of this country and the Turkish Cypriot people and our duty, awareness and sensitivity is to bury them with a state ceremony.    From now on, in matters concerning our martyrs, it should be essential that individual preferences do not preclude State practices.

It is not possible for us to forget our missing and martyrs. It is one of our greatest duties to commemorate them forever. May the souls of all our martyrs be blessed. We will not forget them, we will not allow for them to be forgotten. "