Oktay: “We will not tolerate the Greek Cypriot side’s actions aimed at ignoring the Turkish Cypriots”
29 March, 2019Cyprus Issue: Past, Present and the Vision for the Future
2 April, 2019Prime Minister Tufan Erhürman paid a one-day working visit to Ankara yesterday (28th March). During his visit, Erhürman met with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and the President of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) Prof. Dr. Yekta Saraç.
Within the framework of his other contacts in Ankara, Erhürman participated in a ceremony where service medals were awarded to veterans who took part in the 1974 Peace Operation in Cyprus.
In his speech at the ceremony, Erhürman stated that the Cyprus problem started in 1963, not in 1974, and that the days when the veterans came to the island were the darkest days as a result of the coup carried out by the fascist junta. He stressed that each veteran had helped the Turkish Cypriots overcome the great difficulties they faced. Erhürman emphasized that while the negotiations on the Cyprus problem continue, Turkish Cypriot people will never give up the political equality and added that the TRNC will continue its economic and social development with the assistance of the Republic of Turkey.
Giving the struggle waged by the war veterans and martyrs as an example, he said “The best example is the struggle that was put forward by them. They paid the heaviest price during those bitter times”.
Erhürman said that the Turkish Cypriot people, like other people in the world, were demanding equal representation within the international community.
Stating that they will enable the social and economic development of the TRNC by working all together, Erhürman stressed that the Turkish Cypriot people will continue to exist.