TRNC President Ersin Tatar, during a meeting with TMT Veterans Association leaders, reflected on the Turkish Cypriots’ struggle for independence and the challenges they have faced. Tatar commemorated the martyrs on the occasion of Bloody Christmas and Martyrs’ Week and praised the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) for its pivotal role in securing the national identity and freedom of the Turkish Cypriots.

President Tatar declared that with Turkey’s full support, the possibility of a federal solution has completely dissolved, making a two-state solution an absolute necessity. “Sovereignty and statehood are what will save us,” Tatar said, emphasizing that the TRNC must participate in any agreement as a state, not merely a community.

Highlighting the TRNC’s strategic importance in the Eastern Mediterranean, Tatar referenced the TRNC’s observer status in the Organization of Turkic States as a milestone. He also noted the establishment of the History, Culture, and National Struggle Museum as a valuable effort to pass on the Turkish Cypriots’ legacy to future generations.