LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar held a reception Saturday to mark the 50th anniversary of Peace and Freedom Day.

Tatar said Turkish Cypriots fought a great struggle until 1974 with their sacrifices and courage, according to the Turkish Agency Cyprus.

“If we live in peace and security in this geography, we owe it to our martyrs and veterans,” Tatar said at the reception.

He said Turkish Cypriots are not alone because they have the support of Türkiye and the Turkish world.

Noting that there are guests from Azerbaijan and other Turkish states in the TRNC, he said their hearts and feelings are with Turkish Cypriots.

He underlined that the recognition, visibility and acceptance of Turkish Cypriots in the Turkish world, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and friendly countries is increasing daily.

Stressing that the TRNC has become more deeply rooted with its institutions and organizations 50 years after the Cyprus Peace Operation, he said: "It is our national and moral duty to carry the TRNC to a stronger structure."

The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar