Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said that the Greek Cypriots should learn from their past mistakes and seek a cooperative dialogue between the two neighbouring states in Cyprus and an equal sharing of the resources of the island that belongs to the two sides.
The foreign minister issued a message on the occasion of the July 15 1974 Greek fascist coup.
In his message, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu stated that the way to reconciliation in Cyprus was the acceptance of the facts on the island and the sovereign equality of the two parties.
Ertuğruloğlu said, “We have a state whether it is recognized or not. At the heart of this state are our martyrs, our disabled veterans, and our veterans. Turkey is an active and effective guarantor in Cyprus. There are two separate sovereign states. An agreement can be reached by accepting these facts. There is one island and two separate states. There is no other way.”
He explained that Greeks, who implemented the Akritas Plan aimed at cleansing the island of Turkish Cypriots, burnt down and destroyed 103 Turkish villages between 1963-1974, indiscriminately murdered hundreds of innocent Turkish Cypriot civilians, women or children, young or old burying them in mass graves because they stood in the way of achieving the goal Enosis.
He noted that the Greek Cypriots who had been systematically carrying out ethnic and religious cleansing against the Turkish Cypriot people for years in Cyprus, destroyed the partnership state, and on July 15 July 1974, with the support of Greek generals under the leadership of Nicos Sampson carried out a coup against Archbishop Makarios.
“The coup attempt against Makarios, which turned into a massacre, ended in failure with the intervention of our Motherland Türkiye on the Island on July 20, 1974. Türkiye used its rights as a guarantor country to protect the lives and property of the Turkish Cypriot people thwarting the coup and forcing the collapse of the Junta regime in Greece,” Ertuğruloğlu reminded.
Also referring to the 2004 Annan Plan referendum, the foreign minister said that the Greek Cypriots proved once against that they have no desire of becoming partners with the Turkish Cypriots on equal terms.
“The two peoples in Cyprus separated their ways after a long fight because the Greek Cypriots wanted to own the whole island. The separation that started in 1963 became permanent in 1974. By proclaiming the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus in 1975 and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1983, it was made clear that Cyprus would never become Greek territory and could not be transformed into a Greek Cypriot state,” Ertuğruloğlu said.
Meanwhile the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, Minister of Interior Ziya Öztürkler, Finance Minister Sunat Atun, Minister of National Education Nazım Çavuşoğlu and the Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources Dursun Oğuz also issued messages marking the day.