The Evkaf Correspondence Fund, which sheds light on the 150 year social life of Turkish Cypriots have been opened for the use of researchers.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus National Archives and Research Department’s ‘Evkaf Correspondence Fund’, which came to life with the contributions of the Cyprus Foundations Administration EVKAF, was introduced to the public and the Evkaf Correspondence Fund Exhibition was opened.
The TRNC National Archives and Research Department introduced the ‘Evkaf Correspondence Fund’ and the Evkaf Correspondence Fund Exhibition was inaugurated at the Conference Hall of the Girne-TRNC National Archives and Research Department.
The exhibition can be visited during working hours until the 10th of October.
The first speech at the ceremony was delivered by the Director of the TRNC National Archives and Research Department Ejdan Sadrazam.
He emphasized that the only way to use institutional or social memory at any time and without loss is through archiving.
He noted that the Evkaf Administration’s Fund, which is one of the largest Ottoman correspondences in volume in Cyprus, dating back to 1797 and contained more than 7000 documents, has gone through compilation, sorting, classification, documentation and digitization processes in line with contemporary scientific principles and has reached the stage where it will be open to the researchers services.
In his speech, the Director General of the Cyprus Vakıflar Administration Professor Dr. İbrahim Benter emphasized that the documents in the Evkaf Correspondence Fund brought to light the foundation tradition of the Turkish Cypriots.
Benter said that the richness of the Evkaf Correspondence Fund in terms of volume and content is proof of how developed the foundation tradition and practices in the country have been throughout history.
The Head of the State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Professor Dr. Uğur Ünal for his part stated that archiving in Türkiye and the TRNC is on an upward trend and gave information about the work carried out.
Ünal said that a more important issue than the development of archiving is to find a solution to the issue of how the history and culture in the archives can be transferred to the future generations.
Parliamentary Speaker Zorlu Töre also said a few words at the event by emphasizing the importance of knowing ones history. Explaining that during the British colonial period, the Evkaf’s lands, including Maraş, were abused and claimed by Greek Cypriots, Töre said that it is of great importance to use scientific studies and develop the archives which are evidence and noted that these important issued also affected the negotiations process.
President Ersin Tatar for his part stated that the history and documents of the Turkish Cypriots have been archived since 1796.
Tatar pointed to the importance of archiving, digitalizing and carrying current information and documents as well as historical documents to the future by using technological developments.
He also emphasized that the Turkish Cypriots’ demands for political equality, equal sovereignty and a two-state policy were defended with the facts contained in the documents and archives.
“The fact that the Turkish Cypriots have acquired sovereignty rights, at least as much as the Greek Cypriots with the 1960 founding treaty, all these are in the archives. If we are to carry our sovereign equality forward and if there is going to be an agreement this can be achieved through the cooperation of the two equal sovereign states” said Tatar.