Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman has called for a safer and more peaceful future during events organised by the occupation regime in Kokkina to commemorate the events of 1964.
Speaking 62 years after the deadly Turkish bombing of the Tylliria region, Erhürman said the responsibility of the present generation was to ensure that children never again experienced war, conflict or suffering.
Building a future without conflict
“Our duty is to build the future without forgetting the suffering of the past,” Erhürman said.
“Our struggle is to ensure that no child is left without a future and that the suffering, wars and conflicts experienced on these lands are never repeated,” he added. The objective, he said, was to leave children “a better country”.
Erhürman called for common ground on the future of children, regardless of political views or ideologies.
“We must work so that our children never again experience wars, conflicts and suffering. We must strive so that every child living on these lands can grow up safely and look to the future with hope,” he said.
References to the events of 1964
Erhürman described the events at Kokkina as the “Kokkina resistance”, calling it “one of the most important turning points in the Turkish Cypriot people’s struggle for existence”.
“Exactly 62 years have passed. The glorious resistance of Kokkina was one of the struggles through which the Turkish Cypriot people demonstrated, in the strongest possible way, their determination to protect their existence, freedom and dignity,” he said.
He added that the gathering was intended to honour those who had fought in the area and reaffirm a commitment to preserving what he described as their legacy.
Responsibility towards future generations
Referring to the relationship between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community, Erhürman said he honoured all those who had supported what he called the Turkish Cypriot people’s “struggle for existence”.
He said lessons had been drawn from the struggles of previous generations and that today’s society carried significant responsibilities towards them.
“The greatest responsibility we have today is to protect the future of our children,” he said, adding that young people had fought at Kokkina for the security and freedom of future generations.
“Our duty today is to hand over to our children the country that was left to us, making it more beautiful, safer, fairer and more peaceful,” he said.
Erhürman added that obligations towards those killed and veterans could be fulfilled by defending the values for which they fought and working to create a safer and more peaceful future.
Source: CNA.
