At the Mustafa Çağatay commemoration ceremony, President Tatar called to the Greek Cypriots “Do not distort the facts of history”

The late statesman Mustafa Çağatay, who was the first Prime Minister of the TRNC, was commemorated at his grave on the 32nd anniversary of his death.

Speaking at the commemoration ceremony held at the Karaoğlanoğlu Cemetery on Saturday morning (03/04/21), President Ersin Tatar called the Greek Cypriots, saying “Don’t distort the facts of history.” Tatar criticised the statement of the Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Anastasiades that “EOKA was the organisation of liberation fighters and heroes, the main terrorist organisation was TMT” and added that “We have not forgotten what happened, we will never forget. We have to maintain our sovereignty in order to preserve the efforts and services of people like Çağatay. Turkish Cypriot people exist in these lands and they will continue to exist”.

Stating that they will go to Geneva because of the intransigence of the Greek Cypriots and to defend the cooperation of two states living side by side in Cyprus based on sovereign equality, Tatar said that we will explain our position to the parties with the support of Turkey. He also added that if there is to be an agreement, we are announcing to the world that an agreement can be possible only after we have revised the lessons we have learned from the past very carefully and in detail, at the negotiation tables, and give importance to them.

In his speech at the ceremony, President Ersin Tatar stated that Çağatay served every stage of the state and said, “Mr. Çağatay contributed to the success of the Turkish Cypriot history in the last 50 years. In the current stage, the Turkish Cypriot people continue the struggle with the support of motherland Turkey”.

Pointing out to the informal 5+1 conference to be held in Geneva between 27-29 April, Tatar said “We will explain our position, regarding the cooperation between the two equal sovereign states living side by side, to the parties with the support of Turkey. If Mr. Çağatay was still living, I am sure he would completely support us”.

Noting that the TRNC gets stronger and continues on its own way, and pointing out the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Tatar said that in order to continue the Turkish Cypriot’s existence in this region and to develop an honourable policy together with Turkey, we have to sustain our existence on the island.