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Northern Cyprus erects statue to honour late Ecevit, mastermind of 1974 intervention
The first statue of Ecevit --who was the Turkish Premier at the time of the 1974 intervention-- in TRNC was erected in front of a high school carrying his name in Lefkosa Monday, with a ceremony held with the participation of the recently elected Turkish Cypriot President Dervis Eroğlu and Acting Premier and Foreign Minister Hüseyin Özügürgün, ministers and a large crowd of citizens.
Eroğlu who addressed the crowd said the former Turkish Premier Ecevit was not a mere politician, but a great statesman that left his mark on history, noting that TRNC was paying a late homage to him.
"We are inaugurating the statue of the great statesman, late Bülent Ecevit, who has master minded the '1974 Peace Operation', and who has lead to the foundation of a state on the territory liberated by that operation," said Eroğlu.
Eroğlu said the 1974 intervention was misinterpreted by many different states.
He said Turkish Cypriots were being massacred before 1974, adding that motherland Turkey intervened under those circumstances, using its rights stemming from "the treaty of guaranty" and other agreements.
He said Turkish Cypriots enjoyed a life of freedom in the lands liberated by that intervention, saying that they should appreciate this fact.
Eroğlu said he would carry on the settlement talks with the Greek Cypriot Administration, noting however that they would not give up the earned rights of the Turkish Cypriots in the negotiation table.
Eroğlu pointed out that it was time for the world to recognise the Turkish Cypriot people's struggle to live an honourable life. He said that a biased approach to the Cyprus issue was wrong urging those states vigorously insisting for a solution to see the facts, so that the incidents of the past would not recur.
CYPRUS ISSUE
Gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, Cyprus became a bi-communal Republic where Greek and Turkish Cypriot constituent communities would share power guaranteed by the UK, Turkey and Greece.
However, reluctant to share power and pursuing a policy of Enosis (Union) with Greece, Greek Cypriots soon expelled Turkish Cypriots from power and terrorised and ghettoised them.
Decades long armed attacks on the defenseless Turkish Cypriots culminated in 1974 when an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot military coup on the island led to Turkey's intervention based on its rights stemming from the Treaty of Guarantee.
Although the Republic of Cyprus as described in the 1959 agreements is no longer there, Greek Cypriots continue to enjoy this title and international recognition while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a fully democratic government representing Turkish Cypriots, still suffers under an unfair political and economic blockade.
Cyprus joined the EU as a divided island when Greek Cypriots in the south rejected the UN reunification plan in twin referendums in 2004 even though the Turkish Cypriots in the north overwhelmingly supported it.
The promise made by EU foreign ministers before the referendums to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and establish direct trade with north Cyprus remains unfulfilled.
TRNC is an independent republic located in the north of Cyprus. TRNC declared its independence in 1983, nine years after a Greek Cypriot coup attempting to annex the island to Greece led to a peace operation by Turkey. The TRNC has received diplomatic recognition from the Republic of Turkey and the TRNC has representations in dozens of countries across the globe.
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