ANKARA (AA) - July 20, 2012 - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is celebrating Peace & Freedom Festival on Friday on the 38th anniversary of Cyprus Peace Operation.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul sent a message to TRNC President Dervis Eroglu on the occasion of the festival and said that Cyprus Peace Operation, which was staged on July 20, 1974, was an assurance for Turkish Cypriots to govern themselves.
Turkey will always support Turkish Cypriots, he added.
Gul said that solving Cyprus problem which had been continuing for nearly 50 years would bring cooperation, security and prosperity not only to Cyprus island but also to the whole Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek also sent messages to Turkish Cypriot President Dervis Eroglu and Parliament Speaker Hasan Bozer to celebrate the festival.
I celebrate the festival of Turkish Cypriot people who have been struggling against all pressures, while preserving their existence, rights and laws for more than half a century, Cicek said in his message.
Meanwhile, TRNC's Ambassador in Ankara Mustafa Lakadamyali and an accompanying delegation visited Anitkabir, Ataturk's Mausoleum, in capital Ankara. They laid a wreath at the mausoleum and observed a minute of silence.
In 1960, a partnership state between Turkish and Greek Cypriots was set up in accordance with the international agreements signed by the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides, as well as the Turkish, Greek and British governments. However, in 1963, only three years later, the Turkish Cypriots were ousted by force from all organs of the new Republic by their Greek Cypriot partners in clear breach of the founding agreements and the Constitution. The claim put forth thereafter by the Greek Cypriots to represent the "Republic of Cyprus" has been illegal, and has not been recognized by Turkey. The 1974 attempt by Greece to annex the island, through a coup attempt, was resisted by Turkey in accordance with the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. Consequently, Turkish Cypriots set up their own Republic, while continuing the search for reconciliation.
