The north on Monday marked the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr Fazil Kucuk, the first Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus.
A ceremony attended by the great and the good of Turkish Cypriot politics as well as members of the Turkish Cypriot armed forces and the Turkish Ambassador to Nicosia Metin Feyzioglu took place at Kucuk’s tomb in the village of Mandres in the morning.
In his speech at the ceremony, Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar said Kucuk had “carried out multidimensional work with his colleagues to implement Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s reforms in Cyprus.”
He said that under the “cruel and harsh” conditions of British colonial rule, Kucuk “made an extraordinary effort” and showed “devotion to the Turkish nation, Kemalism, and brave leadership”.
He also made reference to Kucuk’s founding of the Halkin Sesi newspaper, and the fact that he gave up his own property to build houses for internally displaced people.