President Ersin Tatar commemorated Dr. Fazıl Küçük, the leader of the struggle for existence of the Turkish Cypriot people, on the 40th anniversary of his death.
In a message issued on the occasion, President Tatar stated, “Dr. Küçük was a great leader who left a lasting legacy.”
“Dr. Küçük, starting from his political career as a municipal council member to the post of Vice President of the 1960 Republic of Cyprus, was a great leader who left his mark as a doctor, journalist and writer. Küçük successfully organised the Turkish Cypriot people around the national cause. Under challenging conditions filled with scarcity and impossibilities, he, along with his colleagues, including Rauf Denktaş, fought against the Greek Cypriots’ goal of Enosis or the island’s union with Greece. He exerted great efforts, especially to draw Türkiye’s attention to Cyprus. His efforts in Türkiye, including participating in rallies, ensured that the reality of the existence of two communities in Cyprus was recognized and documented worldwide,” he said.
Tatar pointed out that Dr. Küçük played a pioneering role in establishing the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT), the foundation of today’s Cyprus Turkish Security Forces and fought against the British and EOKA.
“He always stood by the Turkish Cypriot people, even in the toughest times. Dr. Küçük was a self-sacrificing leader who, in the face of forced displacement and the destruction of homes in Turkish Cypriot villages, provided from his own resources to build houses for displaced families,” the president said.
“I remember our leader, along with his comrades in arms and the Founding President Rauf R. Denktaş, with love, respect, gratitude, and mercy as we walk in his footsteps to assert our independence,” Tatar concluded his message.