Those who were martyred in Küçük Kaymaklı during the struggle for existence of the Turkish Cypriot people and Martyr Hüseyin Ruso, who was one of the symbols of the struggle, were commemorated today with a ceremony.

Meanwhile President Ersin Tatar issued a message to commemorate the martyrs.

In his message the president said that the genocide events that took place 60 years ago within the framework of ENOSIS ambitions and the Akritas Plan are of great importance in the Turkish Cypriot struggle for existence.

“In the 11-year period until 1974, many hearths were extinguished, sons, mothers and fathers were massacred and thrown into mass graves, and the Turkish Cypriots were subjected to great torments in front of the eyes of the world. The war crimes and genocide attempt in Palestine today was also committed against the Turkish Cypriots as of the evening of December 21, 1963 in front of the eyes of the same bystander actors” said Tatar.

“Hüseyin Ruso, who was trying to help the evacuation of Küçük Kaymaklı, Hamitköy and Lefkoşa to safer areas when the Greek Cypriots surrounded the region with reinforcements, was shot in the forehead and martyred,” said Tatar.

“The atrocities committed in Küçük Kaymaklı against the resistance of a handful of mujahid will be remembered with hatred throughout history. Küçük Kaymaklı lost a total of 64 martyrs in the bloody Christmas,” said Tatar.

He said that if we currently have a state, if we can live in peace, tranquillity and security in this country, we owe this to those who made sacrifices and first and foremost to our martyrs.

“Our greatest wish is to further strengthen our state by preserving our unity and solidarity; to show the world that the Turkish Cypriot people have a separate people and a separate state while living in peace, tranquillity and sovereignty in this country and in this geography, to remind the prices paid, and to strengthen the political basis of our struggle” he said.