AA / Istanbul / Esra Tekin
The ”only legitimate state” on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Türkiye Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on Friday.
”Turkish Cypriots have taken a vital step towards independence by creating their own state and have clearly expressed their national will. Today, the only legitimate state on the island of Cyprus is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,’ Cevdet Yilmaz said in a speech in Lefkosa, the capital of the TRNC, on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of the country’s Declaration of Independence.
The Türkiye Vice President emphasized that the Declaration of Independence of the TRNC dated November 15, 1983 was a turning point for the Turkish Cypriot people.
Despite the difficulties and oppression they faced, the Turkish Cypriot people never gave up and continued their struggle for independence with determination, said Cevdet Yilmaz
”Today marks the anniversary of the proclamation by the Turkish Cypriot people of their sovereignty to the world, thus claiming their homeland, their independence and their freedom,” insisted the Turkish vice-president.
He said the peace operation of July 20, 1974, launched by Türkiye in Cyprus in the midst of a campaign of ethnic violence, ended the oppression suffered by Turkish Cypriots and brought peace and stability to the island.
The senior Turkish official said the security and freedom brought by this operation paved the way for the TRNC’s Declaration of Independence.
He added that Greek Cypriots ”continue to view Turkish Cypriots as a minority and try to attach them to what they consider to be their state. Turkish Cypriots have no time to waste on outdated UN parameters advocating for a federal model, which has been tried and proven ineffective, and is now outdated.’
”We wholeheartedly believe in the two-state solution proposed by TRNC President Ersin Tatar, and we support this vision with all our strengths and means,” Cevdet Yilmaz argued.
”A federal solution model is no longer an option,” he insisted. ”It is clear that any proposal that does not take into account the realities of the island and the will of both parties will not lead us to a solution. Although some do not want to hear the truth, the reality is that there are two distinct peoples on the island and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has existed for 41 years. The proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 41 years ago makes all this very clear today,” he added.
**A struggle that has lasted for decades
Cyprus is mired in a decades-long conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the United Nations to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic violence that began in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots into enclaves for safety.
In 1974, a coup d’état seeking Greek annexation of the island led to the Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. This is how the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.
The peace process has proceeded intermittently in recent years, including the failure of an initiative in Switzerland in 2017 under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration joined the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots foiled a U.N. plan to end the long-running conflict.
Turkey fully supports a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus, based on sovereign equality and similar international status for both states.
*Translated from English by Majdi Ismail
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