The late founding president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Rauf Raif Dentaş who devoted his life to the Turkish nation and the Cyprus cause was commemorated on the 11th anniversary of his passing.
The founding president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Rauf Raif Denktaş was commemorated on the 11th anniversary of his death.
A ceremony was realized at his mausoleum this morning.
The ceremony was attended by President Ersin Tatar, the Speaker of the Republic’s Assembly Zorlu Töre, the Turkish Ambassador to Lefkoşa Metin Feyzioğlu, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, the leader of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman, Deputy Prime Minister Fikri Ataoğlu, other ministers, MPs and state officials.
Delivering a speech at the event, President Ersin Tatar reminisced how he grew up listening to his grandfather’s stories as how the island had been handed over to British rule.
He said that the late Denktaş had never given up believing that Turkish troops would once again return to Cyprus to hoist the Turkish flag.
Tatar explained how Denktaş, starting in 1948 as a young lawyer had joined Dr Fazıl Küçük in leading the Turkish Cypriot people’s struggle for freedom and independence.
He said that the late founding president had insisted on the return of Turkish troops as well as Türkiye’s right to unilaterally intervene as a guarantor state.
“Eventually he succeeded in doing this with Türkiye’s support laying the foundations of the new policy we are pursuing today for the recognition of the Turkish Cypriot people’s sovereign equality. He saw in advance the traps, dangers and risks of a federal settlement and of giving up our sovereignty,” Tatar added.
As part of the commemorative events a commemoration program for Rauf Denktaş was held at the Atatürk Cultural Centre at 10:45.
Meanwhile ceremonies are also taking place in Mersin to commemorate both the late founding president Rauf Raif Denktaş and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot peoples struggle for existence Dr. Fazıl Küçük.
A ceremony will be held on Sunday January 15 to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the passing of Dr. Fazıl Küçük.