In line with the 1st of August Communal Resistance Day celebrations a 16 km Endurance Marathon was realized.
An awards ceremony was held for those who took part in the event.
The Award ceremony for the 16km Endurance Marathon was realized at the Cyprus TMT Fighters Association.
President Ersin Tatar, Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel and the Commander of the Security Forces Major General Zorlu Topaloğlu also attended the ceremony.
Speaking during the ceremony President Ersin Tatar emphasized that they will never allow the island to turn into a state where Greek and Greek Cypriots are dominant.
Noting that Cyprus had been conquered in 1571 and 80 thousand martyrs had been given and that everyone is aware of what the Turkish Cypriots were subjected to during the British colonial period that started in 1878, President Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriots continued their existence knowing that the Turkish soldiers would definitely come back to the island one day.
He said that with the epic struggle given at the time it had been announced to the whole world that the island of Cyprus would never be united with Greece.
Stating that many games had been played to turn the island into a Greek one, Tatar noted that in the 1950s, Britain was persuaded to leave the island in exchange for two sovereign bases and to connect the island to Greece, and that population had been moved to the island for this purpose, adding that this has all been documented in British records.
“For this purpose the non-Turkish population was increased from 100 thousand to 400 thousand, and they tried to assimilate the island” said Tatar.
“The Turkish Cypriots resisted against the church and the Greek junta that tried to turn Cyprus into a Greek island. This paved the way for the 1974 Peace Operation and paved the way for the beginning of a new era in Cyprus” said Tatar.
Stating that the policy of a solution on the island only on the basis of two sovereign states should become more rooted, Tatar said that official negotiations can only be started on the basis of two sovereign states and with the acceptance of the equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots adding that he conveyed this to the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulidis in the buffer zone on July 28.
“Türkiye fully supported this policy” said Tatar.
Stating that with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) joining the Organization of Turkic States as an observer member (OTS), it has been shown to the whole world that there are two separate states, two democracies and two peoples on the island,
“We have informed the whole world that we will never allow negotiations under the roof of a federation, severing ties with the motherland, single sovereignty within the EU, the consumption of us over time through osmosis, and the transformation of this place into a status where Greek and Greek Cypriots will dominate in the EU” said Tatar adding that the importance of having a state should be constantly explained to the new generations.
He concluded his speech by saying that it was his greatest desire to protect the TRNC and continue the spirit of resistance in order for all these to come to life.
The head of the Cyprus TMT Fighters Association Celal Bayar for his part said that the TMT was established to protect the existence, life, property, honor and dignity of the Turkish Cypriot people, to prevent the realization of the ENOSIS dream and against EOKA terrorist organization, and to ensure the unity and solidarity of the Turkish Cypriots under the most difficult conditions.