Statement by President Ersin Tatar on the use of a photograph of Greek-Greek Cypriot troops and EOKA terrorists on TRNC lottery tickets printed by the State Lottery Administration
President Ersin Tatar has “condemned in the strongest possible manner” the use of a photograph that shows Greek-Greek Cypriot troops and EOKA terrorists on National Lotters tickets that were printed in commemoration of the Erenköy struggle.
President Ersin Tatar has issued a written statement condemning in the strongest possible manner the use of a photograph of Greek-Greek Cypriot troops and EOKA terrorists on the National Lottery tickets that was supposed to commemorate the Turkish Cypriot Erenköy Resistance of 1964. The National Lottery department printed the tickets and the draw had been planned to be held on August 8, 2022.
President Tatar said in the written statement:
“Greek Cypriot armed attacks were unleashed on December 21, 1963, with the aim of exterminating the Turkish Cypriot People across the whole island of Cyprus in accordance with the Akritas Plan. One of the main objectives of the Greek Cypriot attacks was to seize the areas under the control of our Mujahideen [Freedom Fighters] in the Girne mountain range. A building, located in a strategic area above the Göçeri village and used as a defence position by our Mujahideen, was subjected to a treacherous attack by the heavily armed Greek-Greek Cypriot troops and EOKA terrorists during the Eid celebrations in 1964, and many of our Mujahideen were martyred in this attack.
Whilst Greek-Greek Cypriot troops and the EOKA terrorists had their "victory" photographed with the Turkish flag they had appropiated in front of that building, they also put the corpse of one of our martyred Mujahideen in a military vehicle and showed the corpse to Greek Cypriot villagers. Furthermore, the Greek Cypriot propaganda machine were also presenting the photograph taken in front of the building to the world press with a message: "We destroyed the Turkish resistance in Cyprus".
It is not possible for us to forget these atrocities and our responsibility should be to teach and educate the recent history that was lived in Cyprus to the next generation.
Depicting wrongly the Greek-Greek Cypriot troops and EOKA terrorists as “Erenköy Mujahideen” on the lottery tickets printed by the TRNC State Lottery Administration to commemorate the glorious Erenköy Resistance put forward by the Turkish Cypriot People, which is synonymous with the Çanakkale [Gallipoli] legend of Türkiye, is a significant and unforgivable blunder.
No one can humiliate our Erenköy mujahideen, the glorious Erenköy resistance, our national struggle and our saintly martyrs for any reason whatsoever. Tolerance cannot be shown to such gross error.
Prime Minister Ünal Üstel has stated that a legal investigation has been launched into the incident and those responsible will be dismissed and penalised.
Whilst I appreciate the statement of Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, I am deeply saddened by this heinous incident, and I will follow the developments closely. Another step that needs to be taken is to make the necessary provisions so that no such atrocious event can be repeated in the future.”