Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Atatürk`s Ideology Club organised a commemoration ceremony within the framework of 21 December Martyr`s Week at Mustafa Afşin Conference Hall at 2:00 pm on 29 December 2016.
EMU Atatürk`s Ideology Club Chair Çağatay Kır delivered a speech at the said event which commenced with a moment of silence and the national anthem. In his opening address, Çağatay Kır expressed his feelings as follows: “Our martyrs are the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their country. As the Turkish nation, it is our duty to maintain our struggle and preserve our great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk`s legacy. May all our martyrs and war veterans rest in peace, the invincible Turkish nation will never collapse.”
Prof. Dr. Osam: “I wholeheartedly commemorate all the lost lives.”
EMU Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam delivered a speech at the ceremony and Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam commemorated the martyrs who have a significant place in Cyprus Turkish history and added that we all should learn from the past to have a bright future. Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Osam underlined that the support of mother land Turkey has always been felt by Turkish Cypriots and reminded that hostility has always been against the grain of the Turks.
Dr. Turgay Bülent Göktürk: “They have lost their lives for the sake of their countries and now we are living in peace on account of them.”
Following the opening addresses, EMU Atatürk Research and Application Center academic staff member Turgay Bülent mentioned the history of Turkish nation and delivered a presentation in memory of the martyrs.
Ertan Ersan
After the video screening Ertan Ersan made a speech and mentioned the history of Cyprus and reminded the brutal 1974 war period all the Turkish Cypriots have lived through. Ersan concluded his words with a poem about the martyrs and the universally renowned quotation of the great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk “How Happy Is He Who Says I`m a Turk.”
At the end of the conference, EMU Vice Rector for Student Affairs Prof. Dr. M. Yaşar Özden presented Ersan a gift made of traditional Lefkara lace. The event was attended by 28th Mechanised Division Commander Faruk Yıldırım, Famagusta District Governor Dürdane Acı, EMU Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam, Famagusta Mayor İsmail Arter, 4th Infantry Regiment Commander Akin Örsdemir, Famagusta Chief of Police Department Ömer Tazeoğlu, Vice Rectors, EMU Atatürk Research and Application Center Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hasan Cicioğlu, EMU Academic Staff Members and many students.