25.09.2020 – The Union of Cypriots and all real progressive and patriot forces of Cyprus knows what is “paying a price” means. We do respect and collaborate with everybody who fights against the occupiers, regardless of their political and ideological orientation.
That is why we are remembering Raif Denktaş, son of the one of Cypriot who is responsible for the suffering of our nation today, Rauf Denktaş.
Despite his father, Raif Denktaş was a leftist politician, musician, journalist, and a University of Oxford graduate academic. Because of his stance against Turkey’s social, cultural, and economical oppression to Turkish-speaking Cypriots, he was assassinated by Turkey when he was just 34 years old.
Raif Denktaş and his Social Democratic Party had a goal of ending the “Rauf Denktaş era” for Turkish-speaking Cypriots. Before his assassination, Raif Denktaş was meeting with Greek-speaking Cypriot political parties and worked on finding ways for the Cyprus problem. He was not a “fighter” for an independent Cypriot Republic but his fight against Turkey’s colonisation activities in the occupied areas of Cyprus did cost him his life.
Union of Cypriots made its statement regarding the illegitimate leadership election which will be held in the occupied territories on 11 October 2020. The main reason that these elections are not legitimate anymore is the “illegal Turkish settlement policy” of Turkey which is ongoing for 46 years. Today, Turkish-speaking Cypriots are only 10% of the “population” and 34% of the so-called “citizens” who have or will have the right to vote or to stand as a candidate in these elections. These numbers clearly show that this “leadership” position is not representing the Turkish-speaking Cypriots anymore but represents Turkey and its “illegal Turkish settlers”. In our statement which we published on February 2020, we shared the solution that we believe to this situation.
We are remembering Raif Denktaş with respect today because he was a person who fought against Turkey’s colonization of the island when the numbers of “illegal settlers” were not even close to the quarter of their numbers today. And we would like to remind everybody his speech before the 1985 elections in the occupied areas, which caused a “Turkish military truck” hitting his vehicle in the Nicosia-Famagusta highway on 24 December 1985. This speech was made in the pseudo-state TRNC parliament on 22 February 2020, just a few months before his assassination by Turkey.
“Dear president, dear friends, honorable members of our government. If we see an abnormal increase in the number of voters from the 1981 elections to the 1985 elections like it was from 1976 elections to 1981 elections, we will invite the world press to Cyprus and declare them that “this election is a farce, it was done with voters who have been imported from Turkey and this all election is just a theater”…
Because the social fabric of this country is changing for the worse and we will stop this in one way or another. We want to stop this legally and peacefully. Because we have nothing to lose and no other place to go. We will protect our homeland and say it is ours. You cannot give citizenship to whoever you want…
Every citizen to be made from today until the day the voter lists are ready is a person who has been deliberately made citizen for election. And we will react to this greatly. We are warning you, we will react very strongly. We will react to this in front of the world press and it will not be pleasant for you…
This is the solution. Because we warn you, but you do not stop. Because we ask questions, but you give vague answers. And it goes on and on and on. We will stop it, gentlemen… “
