A ceremony was held at the Tekke Bahçe (Garden) on Friday morning to remember the 21 martyrs of Avyasıl village.

President Ersin Tatar, speaking at the ceremony recalled the great suffering of the Turkish Cypriot people in the past, stressing that there can be no going back to the pre-1974 conditions.

“The guarantees provided by motherland Türkiye and the Turkish army are our red lines,” he said, adding that Turkish Cypriots had no desire to go back to the period before 1974 or 1960.

“We envision our future under a separate state, and that’s why we can only agree to a solution model where two sovereign equal states collaborate side by side,” he said.

The ceremony began with the laying of wreaths at the martyrs’ monument at the cemetery, followed by a moment of silence, shots being fired in tribute and the raising of the flags to the national anthem.

Gürsel Benan, President of the Martyrs’ Families and Disabled Veterans Association, who delivered the first speech at the ceremony, recounted the events in Ayvasıl village.

“To properly evaluate and understand the unforgettable pain caused by the genocide acts against the Turkish Cypriot people, we must learn the historical truths from reliable sources and strengthen our awareness to protect our sovereignty, freedom, and independence based on the experiences gained. Turks, who considered these lands as their homeland, fought for the sake of land and country for various reasons, sacrificing their blood and lives for every inch of these lands, so that future generations could live freely under their own flag. If today we have created a homeland and can live freely under our own flag on our own land, it is undoubtedly thanks to our martyrs,” he said.

Also delivering a speech, President Ersin Tatar emphasized that it was impossible for the Turkish Cypriot people to forget what had happened.

“As President, I would like to emphasize how important unity and solidarity are. We never want to return to the period before 1974 or 1960. Therefore, the world must respect the will of the Turkish Cypriot people,” he stressed.

President Tatar also expressed the great importance Turkish Cypriots attach to Türkiye’s guarantees and the presence of the Turkish forces as a deterrent force on the island.

“We see our future under a separate state, so for this reason, we can only agree to a solution model where two sovereign equal states collaborate side by side. Otherwise, we will never accept being dragged into such an adventure without Türkiye, without the guarantee of the motherland,” he said.