Meaningful Event in Memory of Champion Angels in London

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel and President of the Champion Angels Living Association, Ruşen Karakaya, attended the tree-planting event held in memory of the Champion Angels in London, England.

The event, which took place on Saturday, January 25, at Trent Park, was organized to honor the memory of the Champion Angels who lost their lives in Adıyaman during the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş in 2023. The event was a meaningful gathering for the Turkish Cypriot community, filled with both sorrow and solidarity.

The ceremony was attended by TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel and his wife Zerrin Üstel, Turkish Ambassador to London Osman Koray Ertaş, TRNC London Representative Çimen Keskin, Barking MP Nesil Çalışkan, Enfield MP Feryal Clark, Enfield Mayor Mohammad Islam, Council Leader Ergin Erbil, President of the Champion Angels Living Association Ruşen Karakaya, regional council members, representatives of civil society organizations, and community members.

ÜSTEL: WE ARE DETERMINED IN THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE

In his speech at the ceremony, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel expressed both deep sorrow for the lives lost in the earthquake and determination in the fight for justice:

"Today, we are together at an important event to keep the memory of our Champion Angels alive. As you know, on February 6, the disaster of the century struck our motherland Turkey. This disaster affected 11 provinces and we lost more than 50,000 of our people. As the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, we lost our Champion Angels, teachers, and people. I wish God's mercy on all of them and patience for their families. I also hope that the noble Turkish nation will never experience such great disasters again.

At 04:06 on the morning of February 6, the people of the TRNC became one heart with the people of our motherland, the Republic of Turkey. From the very first moment, we started search and rescue operations. Our business people mobilized to deliver aid to Turkey. We sent vehicles, machinery, and materials worth millions of lira to the earthquake areas.

As the TRNC government, we acted in unity without distinction between opposition and government. With the support of the Republic of Turkey, we rented a plane and went to Adıyaman to participate in the rescue efforts for our children. Unfortunately, we could not save our children, but we did not leave any of them there. We brought all our children back to the TRNC and honored their memory.

Since that day, our people living in the TRNC have been keeping the memory of our children alive in solidarity. Today, we have gathered here to keep the name of our Champion Angels alive forever. We made a promise to our children: We will not forget and we will not let them be forgotten.

"Natural disasters can unfortunately always happen, but it is humanity that turns these disasters into catastrophes. We are fighting to keep the memory of our lost children alive and to prevent other children's lives from being endangered. We have made a great effort for two years in the legal struggle we started against the owners of the hotel where we lost our children in the Republic of Turkey. We trust the justice of the Republic of Turkey. While the heaviest sentence given so far is an important step, our goal is to achieve a life sentence. We will never give up this fight.

Today, I am proud to be here with our community in London. I sincerely thank the organizers of this event, especially EuroMed Director Hasan Gazi, the Enfield Municipality officials who supported us, and all the valuable members of our community. Together we are stronger."

KARAKAYA: WE LOST OUR CHILDREN IN A HOTEL BUILT AS A GRAVE

Speaking at the event, President of the Champion Angels Living Association Ruşen Karakaya emphasized the magnitude of the pain and the importance of the fight for justice:

"We have been fighting for two years to ensure justice for our children. We lost our children in a hotel built as a grave at the place we sent them for a sports competition. This is a common struggle not only for us but for all humanity. We will not give up our fight until justice is served. Seeing solidarity here today has given us strength. I thank everyone who supported us."