The 42nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was commemorated in Islamabad on Thursday with a dignified ceremony attended by diplomats, government officials, and members of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Naeem Cheema, Türkiye’s Ambassador Dr. Irfan Neziroğlu, and the TRNC Representative in Islamabad, Ms. Buket Kop, jointly cut a celebratory cake to mark the occasion. A number of other notable guests also joined the event.
In her address, Amb Buket Kop briefed the guests about the substantial progress the island has achieved in various domains including democracy, economy, social equality and human rights (HR). She also gave a background of the TRNC citizens’ just and long struggle for recognition as a sovereign nation.
She recalled that the Republic of Cyprus was established as a partnership between the Turkish Cyprus and the Greek Cyprus in 1960. Its legitimacy depended on the joint participation and equal representation, however, that partnership lasted only for three years and in 1963 the Greek Cyprus side attempted to alter the constitution and to strip the people of the Turkish Cyprus of their cofounder status and reduced them to a minority. “This led to the collapse of the partnership and expulsion of the Turkish Cypriots from all state institutions,” she said.
Despite the fact the people of TRNC have a distinct sovereign status, the international community has not recognized them as a separate nation, she said. The root cause of the Cyprus issue, she said, was the problem of status, she said explaining that the Greek Cyprian administration was acknowledged the international community and recognized as the sole representative of the island while the Turkish Cyprus people were just an isolated and unrecognized community, she said. This imbalance has created a comfort zone for the Greek Cyprian side which continues to obstruct all efforts towards a just and lasting solution.
Time has now come to adopt a new approach one that reflects the realities on the ground, she said and quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkiye who in his address at the 79th UN General Assembly called upon the international community to recognize the citizens of TRNC as an independent sovereign nation.
Turkish President has time and again taken up the TRNC case before the international community calling upon them to acknowledge the realities on ground. President Erdogan emphasized that Cyprus was home to two states and two peoples and that the Turkish Cyprians would not accept a minority status.
Ambassador Buket Kop said that as an observer member of the Organization of Islamic Countries as well as Economic Cooperation Organization, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus lately joined hands and hearts with the Organization of Turkic States in 2022, which is a rising international actor, she said.
The Greek Cypriot administration continues to obstruct our international engagement in sports, education, trade and humanitarian operations, while inviting criticism from the TRNC people, she said.
“As Turkish Cypriots celebrate their Republic Day, they reiterate their call for justice. It is time for the world to recognize the reality of two states on the island and to lift the inhumane isolations against the Turkish Cypriot people.” Ambassador Kop also expressed gratitude to Turkiye and Pakistan for their unwavering support.
Speakers underscored the historical importance of the TRNC’s founding and reaffirmed the enduring relationship between Türkiye, the TRNC, and Pakistan. They stressed the importance of continued cooperation, mutual respect, and shared diplomatic objectives.The ceremony concluded with messages of solidarity and aspirations for peace, stability, and progress in the region.
