President Ersin Tatar issued a message on the 67th anniversary of the January 27-28, 1958 Resistance.
In his message, Tatar said that the resistance showed the world that the Turkish Cypriot people are not a minority, that they will not be patched up to the Greek Cypriots and that there are two separate peoples in Cyprus.
He said, “We once again commemorate with great honour the 67th anniversary of the Resistance of January 27-28, 1958, in which our people rose against the guns, bullets, truncheons and gas bombs of the British Colonial Administration for their freedom, independence and sovereignty.”
Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot people, who stood up in those days when the British Colonial Administration tried to impose the solution they wanted together with the Greek Cypriot leadership by excluding the Turkish Cypriot people, had a very important place in the history of struggle.
He noted that the Turkish Cypriot people realized the resistance of January 27-28, 1958 with their blood and lives.
“With this resistance, our people showed the world that they would claim the right to determine their own future even at the cost of death, and that they wanted to live free and independent, and in this holy resistance that continued for two days in Lefkoşa and Gazimağusa, 7 were martyred and many were wounded but they did not back down,” said Tatar.
Noting that the 27-28 January Resistance has an important place in the struggle to ensure sovereignty while showing the world that the Turkish Cypriot people are not a minority, that they will not be patched up to the Greek Cypriots, that there are two separate peoples in Cyprus, President Tatar said; “We commemorate with mercy and gratitude Mehmet Ahmet, Şerif Mehmet, Mustafa Ahmet, İbrahim Ali and Sermet Kanatlı who were martyred in Lefkoşa during the 27-28 January Resistance, Fuat Yusuf and Safa Muharrem who were martyred in Gazimağusa and all our martyrs.”