By ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
Documents on TMT were published for the first time.
The untold history between 1955-1974…
A man of secrets – İlter Kırmızı… [Translator’s note: a TMT member]
I’m almost finished reading the book written, prepared and compiled by Güven Uludağ, Koral Özkoraltay and Osman Yağız Kırmızı…
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If we set out from what Mr İlter has told us and what was documented, it would not be too difficult to analyze the TMT era.
I took some notes and made some assessments as I was reading…
I would like to share them with you today.
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TMT did not wage a struggle for “what we have today”…
Or in other words, the appalling days we are experiencing today were not what TMT’s members set out to achieve…
For example, TMT was not after wiping out every single Cypriot in this country… just the opposite, their oath was to preserve the existence of the community… but they failed to do so…
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Interestingly, some armed groups in Nicosia were even opposed to having a Turkish commander in charge…
Then, someone of ‘Cypriot origin’ was appointed and they were happy…
Today, putting to one side the President, the Prime Minister and his cabinet, and the commanders from Turkey, the country is run by one person and he is doing it quite directly and in an unchallenged way.
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Many of the irregularities, corruption and special treatment that were present during the TMT era continue… For example, at times when it is restricted, forbidden or impossible to purchase anything from the outside, some privileged individuals can buy what they want from the Greek Cypriot side… Some tenders, even if to a limited extent, are awarded to associates, friends or armed persons…
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There is an ugly lie they taught us… They say, “The UN peacekeepers or British soldiers who served in Cyprus always worked against us… They did not protect us.” Whereas it is documented in this book that dozens of UN Peacekeeping Troops played an important role in secretly smuggling weapons and other urgent needs to almost all four corners of the island either voluntarily or professionally…
In fact, the first and only true medal in the history of TMT was awarded to one of these soldiers…
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Propaganda, in other words, lies were always dominant within society… They still are… Nothing has changed…
The bombing of the Bayraktar Mosque was to draw Turkey’s attention to Cyprus, we had discovered this before, and I think it is now documented in this book.
I think it has also been documented that Küçük Kaymaklı was abandoned for the same reason and that dozens of people had died for nothing.
How unfortunate it was that we handed over a residential area of 5,000 people to 20 thugs under the command of Sampson…
Why?
So that the motherland could come and save us!
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The bathroom massacre…
The answer to “Who did it?” is not in this book either…
But “it’s known very well now for what purposes it was used after it took place…”
From my point of view, to place the dead children to create a scene for propaganda is a far greater crime than killing them…
And that’s what they did…
They picked up dead children in their arms and placed them in a bathtub with their mother before taking their photographs…
May you rot in hell and if there is such a thing, I hope you will turn over in your graves…
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Who killed Ayhan Hikmet and Muzaffer Gürkan? [Translator’s note: T/C journalists killed in 1962]
There is no answer to this question either…
But we all know why they were killed…
It is documented…
“So that the Republic of Cyprus would not continue… so that it would collapse…”
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Well sir it wasn’t us who destroyed the Republic of Cyprus!
No, we or some of our influencers exerted a great effort for the collapse of the republic or for us to abandon it.
No one dare tell me from now on that “we were expelled, we were forced out.”
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Another critical issue that was documented once again or we have a better understanding of now thanks to this book is that a lot of evil was mutual…
In other words, “the Turkish side was not innocent…”
I think this is an awful truth…
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Nationalism and fascism are the only cause of this country’s disaster…
Our lot struggled to bring Turkey to the island, jets flew over Erenköy [Kokkina] and Geçitkale [Lefkoniko], dropped bombs on one, struck terror on the other and left…
However, it’s ironic that it was not our fascists who succeeded in bringing Turkey to the island, but the Greek fascists…
The July 15 coup carried out by those idiots not only played right into Turkey’s hands, but also brought them here for good…
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What else is there in this book?
For example, who started the inter-communal clashes first?
I think the answer to that question is also clear…
It was definitely us…
We enlisted in the British police force and saw the ill-treatment of EOKA members in the “British” uniform we wore as an accomplishment…
They always set a “goal” to fight for, we chose to serve the British until others set a goal…
We were collaborators…
The first massacre also belongs to us…
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And there is the example of a murder that took place in Famagusta…
If I’m not mistaken, I think we shot three people; following that incident 14 Turkish Cypriots went missing from the roads…
The result?
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In the name of Turkish or Greek nationalism, to serve the interests of the British and the Americans, in the name of the so-called “just cause”, we did it to ourselves and if the current situation is the outcome, we have definitely lost!
We are defeated in every aspect!
Because the Turkish Cypriot community, which TMT swore to protect and preserve, is no more!
And what is more painful is that if we examined all the actors who played a role in the Cyprus calamity one by one, it would seem that only the Turkish Cypriot community dies at the end of the movie!
So good you exist!
In the last month and a half, following Mahmut Anayasa’s and Zalihe Susuzlu’s play Gatriyaba, [Translator’s note: Gatriyaba transformed from ‚Katriye aba‘ or sister Katriye in Turkish Cypriot dialect] I had the chance to watch Salih Döşemeci’s theatrical adaptation of Alikko and Caher… [Translator’s note: a radio programme from the 1960s based on two traditional characters] which was staged by FOGEM [Nicosia Folklore and Youth Centre]…
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We went to Turkey for a holiday with my mother and father right after 1974…
With the Yeşilada ferryboat…
My father had a 1973 model Audi…
Its rear had been damaged by a bomb and was fixed…
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We would occasionally stop along the Antalya-Mersin coastline, and listen to Alikko and Caher on Bayrak Radio…
It was such a pleasure…
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Alikko was Kemal Tunç…
The great master is not with us anymore…
May God rest his soul…
Caher was voiced by Osman Balıkçıoğlu…
He still pursues his love of theatre in London…
He too was at the AKM [Atatürk Culture Centre] on Saturday…
The play ended, and he came on stage to deliver his speech…
He thanked the actors, kissed each of them on their cheeks…
He also invited Tunç’s daughters and Kürşat, the son of Yücel Köseoğlu, another great figure who played Caher before him to the stage…
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And we remembered our “Cypriotness” when watching Gatriyaba and Alikko and Caher…
We love everyone who contributed very much…
[Photograph inserted of Giovanni Guidetti who was head coach of the Turkish Women’s National Volleyball Team]
“This country (Turkey) gave me a career on the court and presented me with a very happy life off the court. I will proudly follow the Sultans of the Net [Translator’s note: nickname of Turkish Women’s National Volleyball Team] as a dedicated fan. I know that the strong women of this country will always do their best,” said Giovanni Guidetti as he stepped down as head coach of the Turkish Women’s National Volleyball Team… We too like you very much… We followed you with great excitement… Grazie Signore Guidetti.
Source: WE’RE THE ONLY ONES DEAD AT THE END OF THE FILM ON CYPRUS
