State and government officials have issued messages to commemorate March 18 Martyrs Remembrance Day and the 107th anniversary of the Çanakkale Victory.
President Ersin Tatar who issued a message highlighting the significance of the day said that thousands of young and brave men had sacrificed their lives in the name of honour and freedom of the Turkish nation.
“The Victory at Çanakkale which changed the fate of the Turkish nation ignited the first spark for the Turkish War of Independence led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and laid the foundations of what was to become modern day Turkiye,” he said.
Tatar pointed out that the great victory which changed world history not only became a hope and light for other nations under oppression or occupation but also a source of inspiration for the Turkish Cypriot people in their struggle for freedom and independence.
“Our debt to our martyrs can be paid by preserving our state, our freedom and sovereignty. We will protect these values entrusted to us by our martyrs under all conditions. The whole world should know this,” he said.
President Ersin Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot peoples’ ultimate goal was to achieve a just, lasting and viable solution in Cyprus.
He pointed out that all attempts to reach a federal settlement since 1968 had failed because of the Greek Cypriot side’s insistence on the scrapping of the system of guarantees, the withdrawal of Turkish forces and transforming Turkish Cypriots into a minority.
“It is out of the question for us to accept any of these demands. What is happening in Ukraine today demonstrates just how important Turkiye’s guarantees are for us,” he said.
Tatar concluded his message by calling on the Greek Cypriot side to respond positively to the Turkish Cypriot side’s offer for dialogue and by paying his respects to the martyrs of the Çanakkale war.
The Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre in his message said that the victory at Çanakkale against the enemies of Turkish presence in Anatolia was an epic.
“The spirit of Çanakkale is a sacred legacy inherited by the Turkish nation from their ancestors to be passed onto future generations,” he said.
Töre said that the victory obtained at Çanakkale is an expression of the Turkish peoples’ spirit of resistance and their determination for freedom and independence.
“It remains a source of inspiration for the Turkish Cypriot people in their continued struggle for existence,” the parliamentary speaker said in his message.
He added that the history is full of important lessons for those who harbour aspirations against the Turkish nation and who aim to impose their domination over the Turkish people.
Töre concluded his message by paying his respects to the founder of modern Turkiye Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, to the veterans and all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives in defence of their homeland and nation.