Ertuğruloğlu: The TRNC Is Not a State Established “as a Joke” in History

Speaking to an Anadolu Agency correspondent ahead of the 42nd anniversary celebrations on 15 November, Ertuğruloğlu underlined concerns over South Cyprus, which he said has effectively turned into an Israeli military base, noting that the United States and Norway have lifted their arms embargoes on the Greek Cypriot side.

Pointing out that the Greek Cypriot Administration considers the entire island a Hellenic territory, Ertuğruloğlu said, “The fact that Greek Cypriots do not see Turkish Cypriots as equals cannot be ignored. Under these circumstances, the future of the island should be shaped by two sovereign and equal states as neighbours—the current situation is the solution itself. The TRNC is the solution.”

Emphasising that Turkish Cypriots moved north through population exchange and embraced the TRNC as their own state, Ertuğruloğlu said:

“Those who cannot recognise the TRNC as a country have no right to preach to us about it. Our country is the TRNC. In Baf, Limassol and Larnaca in the south, there are villages abandoned by Turks. Our people moved north voluntarily. They came to the TRNC and settled here. We are not keeping these people in the TRNC by force. They live here by their own will. They have no desire to return to their former villages or homes. They know they cannot go to the Greek Cypriot Administration. They know who is in the south. Even if they go, their homes or villages no longer exist — many were burned or destroyed by Greek Cypriots.”

“The TRNC Is an Entity the Turkish Cypriot People Will Never Abandon”

Noting that the TRNC will celebrate its 42nd anniversary on 15 November, Ertuğruloğlu said, “The TRNC is the embodiment of the Turkish Cypriot people’s epic struggle for existence, freedom and sovereignty, and it is an entity they will never abandon.”

Ertuğruloğlu emphasised that the future of Cyprus will either be shaped through the cooperation of two sovereign states, two separate peoples and two separate democracies, or by the negative consequences created by Greek Cypriot attempts to seize control of the entire island. He added that it is up to the Greek Cypriot side to decide which path will prevail.

Reiterating that equal international status is a red line in the Cyprus issue, he continued:

“The TRNC is not a state established as a joke in history. It was not set up with the idea ‘let’s establish a state today and dissolve it tomorrow,’ nor was it created to be abandoned. Those who, as a community, deceive themselves by imagining a place for us under another authority within an artificial structure must understand that we will never give up on the TRNC.”

Highlighting what he described as the Greek Cypriots’ aim to assimilate Turkish Cypriots under a Greek state under the name “Republic of Cyprus,” Ertuğruloğlu added: “As we celebrate the 42nd anniversary of our Republic, I wish for many more to come. A strong Turkey means a strong TRNC. How happy is the one who says ‘I am a Turk.’”