Turkish Cyprus marks 43rd year of founding with calls for equality

NICOSIA

Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman laid a wreath at the Atatürk Monument during a ceremony held in Nicosia, on Nov. 15, 2026. (AA Photo)

Turkish Cyprus on Nov. 15 marked the 43rd anniversary of its founding with a series of ceremonies and events, as President Tufan Erhürman stressed the importance of political equality on the ethnically divided eastern Mediterranean island.

“The Turkish Cypriot people are not, and will never be, a minority,” Erhürman said in a speech at a ceremony in the capital Nicosia, underlining that political equality cannot be subject to debate in efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue.

“The Turkish Cypriot people have never walked away from the negotiating table, and they never will,” he said, reaffirming his commitment to continued efforts to reach a settlement.

Türkiye’s Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Defense Minister Yaşar Güler also attended the ceremony at the Atatürk Monument in Nicosia.

The event began with the laying of wreaths at the monument, followed by a moment of silence and the raising of flags to the national anthem.

Speaking at the anniversary ceremony, Yılmaz said the reality of two separate peoples and two separate states on the island must be acknowledged.

“We call on all states, particularly our friends and brothers, to recognize Turkish Cyprus and establish political, diplomatic and economic relations with it,” he said.

Stressing that the sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriots and their equal international status must be recognized, Yılmaz also called for an end to the isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot community.

Cyprus has been divided by a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite repeated diplomatic efforts led by the United Nations to secure a comprehensive settlement.

Intercommunal violence that erupted in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their protection.

In 1974, a coup staged by Greek Cypriot hardliners seeking to unite the island with Greece prompted Türkiye, acting as a guarantor power, to launch a military intervention aimed at protecting Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was subsequently established in 1983.

The island has witnessed intermittent efforts to revive the peace process in recent years, including a 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of the three guarantor powers — Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom, which ultimately failed to produce a settlement.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ünal Üstel condemned the burning of Türkiye and Turkish Cyprus’ flags by Greek Cypriot youths during protests in the southern part of the island, describing the acts as an attack on the honor of the Turkish nation.

In a written statement, Üstel said the chants of hatred, hostility and anger were directed at the Turkish Cypriot people and their motherland, Türkiye.