The late Major General Daniş Karabelen who served as the head of the TMT Special War Department was remembered on Tuesday, on the 40th anniversary of his death.
A remembrance ceremony was organized for Karabelen by the Cyprus Turkish TMT Fighters Association.
President Ersin Tatar, the Speaker of the Republic’s Assembly Zorlu Töre, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, and the Commander of the Cyprus Turkish Security Forces (GKK) Major General Zorlu Topaloğlu as well as other state and government officials attended the special ceremony held at the Cyprus Turkish TMT Fighters Association.
Karabelen’s daughter Özcan Atamert and his granddaughter Boray were also present at the ceremony which began with a minutes silence and the reciting of the national anthem followed by speeches.
Delivering an emotional speech at the ceremony, Karabelen’s daughter Özcan Ataberk said that it was touching to see how his father was remembered.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said that the Turkish Cypriot people’s struggle for freedom, sovereignty and independence was crowned with the establishment of the TRNC.
He said that the Turkish Cypriot people always felt the support of motherland Türkiye, which they were eternally grateful for.
The Speaker of the TRNC Parliament Zorlu Töre in his speech said that the Turkish Cypriot people stood proud and strong today as a result of the sacrifices of the heroes of the Turkish nation.
“Commander Karabelen was one of those heroes. He had served the Turkish nation on five continents, always holding the Turkish flag high,” he added.
President Ersin Tatar for his part said that they will continue to defend the existence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which was entrusted to the Turkish Cypriot people by heroes such as Karabelen.
Regarding the settlement of the Cyprus Issue, Tatar said that a huge disaster had been averted during the talks in Geneva in 2016 following the 2004 Annan Plan as the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo’s goal was to remove Türkiye from Cyprus.
Tatar also said that Cyprus would have become a Greek island had it not been for the 1960 treaties.
“The great struggle waged by Daniş Pasha and his TMT comrades will never be forgotten,” he said.
The president repeated that the only solution that could be reached in Cyprus was one based on two sovereign and equal states.
He added that the TRNC’s importance in the region and the Turkic world had grown.
Tatar concluded his speech by expressing his gratitude to motherland Türkiye.
The ceremony came to an end with the handing out of medals to those who served during the national struggle years.