Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz stated that Turkey seeks a fair, permanent, and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue, “based on the reality of two distinct peoples and two distinct states on the island, which enshrines the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots.”
Speaking yesterday in the occupied territories, during the opening of a museum dedicated to the martyrs of Maratha, Santalaris, and Aloda, Mr. Yilmaz claimed that the “Greek Cypriot administration,” as he referred to the Republic of Cyprus, “which did not hesitate to cooperate with the Netanyahu government—which is currently on trial in international courts for the crime of genocide—has clearly revealed its true nature.”
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He said they would continue “the struggle to end the unjust isolation aimed at cutting off the Turkish Cypriots from the world” and to ensure that the so-called “TRNC” takes its rightful place on the international stage.
Turkey, he said, “as the motherland and guarantor, will continue to contribute to the peace, security, and prosperity of the Turkish Cypriots and to preserve the legacy of our shared history.”
She said that the establishment of the “martyrs’ museum” “is an important step” toward raising awareness of the “massacre and ensuring that historical events are accurately documented and conveyed to the world.”
He argued that “the attacks against defenseless civilians in Maratha, Aloda, and Santalari” clearly demonstrated the vital importance of the “1974 peacekeeping operation in Cyprus” carried out by Turkey.
Noting that, prior to the ceremony, “15 martyrs from Aloda, whose identities had been verified through meticulous identification efforts, were laid to rest in their own graves in a public ceremony,” he said that “the burial of the martyrs under their own names after 52 years offered some comfort to the families who had been waiting for half a century.”
In his remarks, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said that “these events will never be erased from the memory of the Turkish Cypriot people” and that they will preserve the memory of the martyrs.
“It is our collective responsibility to build our future without forgetting our past, to honor the memory of our martyrs, and to leave a safer, more peaceful future for our children,” he added.
Referring to the Committee on Missing Persons, he said that it has long been carrying out its work with sensitivity and meticulousness, and added that Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot politicians bear the responsibility to exercise the utmost care to ensure that the issue of the missing persons and the committee’s work are not politicized.
The “Turkish Cypriot people,” he said, will never relinquish their rights to equality and security on the island, and that they will work tirelessly to ensure that the children “of the country” enjoy the same rights as children in other parts of the world.
He listed the names and ages at the time of death of the 15 individuals, noting that among them was an infant just 40 days old, as he said, and that they were buried yesterday.
Source: CNA
