A ceremony was held on Wednesday to remember Private Allahverdi Kılıç, who was murdered 25 years ago by Greek Cypriot soldiers while on duty at his observation post in the village of Güvercinlik.

Wreaths were laid at the observation post where he was killed followed by a minutes silence and the raising of flags to the national anthem.

Speeches were delivered by the President of the Association of Martyrs’ Families and Disabled War Veterans Gürsel Benan and an officer from the Cyprus Turkish Security Forces.

Meanwhile, President Ersin Tatar issued a written statement in memory of private Kılıç.

The attack carried out proved once again that the Greek Cypriot mentality that perceives the Turkish Cypriots as a minority has not changed a bit,” Tatar said, adding that the Turkish Cypriots will never give up on Turkey’s guarantees or the presence of the Turkish troops on the island.

Tatar added that his main goal is to safeguard a peaceful and secure future for the Turkish Cypriots through a fair and lasting agreement.

“The only way to reach the agreement is to agree on the model tabled by the Turkish Cypriot side in Geneva based on two equal and separate states,” Tatar said, urging the Greek Cypriot side to comprehend the fact that they will not be able to achieve anything by saying “zero troops, zero guarantees.”

“We owe our freedom and our state to Turkish Cypriots who displayed an immense resistance and to motherland Turkey,” Tatar concluded.