Eastern Mediterranean University Atatürk Research and Application Center (EMU-ATAUM) held a panel at EMU Mustafa Afşin Ersoy Hall at 14:30 on Tuesday, 21 December 2021, as the first event marking the 21-25 December National Struggle and Martyrs' Week. The students, who had the opportunity to meet with those who made history, had the opportunity to listen to the Turkish Cypriots' National Struggle. The panel started with a moment of silence and the National Anthem. EMU-ATAUM President Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay Bülent Göktürk, Retired Mujahid Commander Ahmet Sevinç, Chair of the Association for Keeping Muratağa, Sandallar ve Atlılar Martyrs Alive, Ahmet Aşır and Retired Müjahid Yaşar Gevrek attended the event as speakers. Emphasizing that the 21-25 December National Struggle and Martyrs' Week is a very important week for the Turkish Cypriots, EMU-ATAUM Chair Assist. Prof. Dr.Turgay Bülent Göktürk expressed his gratitude to the valuable mujahideen who witnessed this struggle and thanked them for their participation in the panel. Assist. Prof. Dr. Göktürk then read the statement he prepared for the National Struggle and Martyrs' Week.
Emotional Moments Encountered
After the opening speech, the living witnesses of the Turkish Cypriot's National Struggle, Retired Mujahideen Commander Ahmet Sevinç shared his experiences in the defense of Famagusta during the 1974 Peace Operation while Muratağa, Atlılar and Sandallar Martyrs Association President Ahmet Aşır conveyed his memories of the massacres in Muratağa, Atlılar, and Sandallar villages, and Retired Mujahid Yaşar Gevrek shared his memories in the Taşkent region with the participants.
After the speeches during which emotional moments were encountered, EMU-ATAUM President Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay Bülent Göktürk presented a Cypriot Lefkara frame to Retired Commander Ahmet Sevinç, Muratağa, Atlılar and Sandallar Martyrs Association President Ahmet Aşır and Retired Mujahid Yaşar Gevrek.
Visit to Martyrs' Families and Veterans Association
The second event organized by EMU-ATAUM as part of the 21-25 December National Struggle and Martyrs' Week was a visit to the Martyrs' Families and the Veterans Association in Nicosia. EMU ATAUM President Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay Bülent Göktürk, Members of the Executive Board Assoc. Prof. Dr. Canan Zeki and Sen. Inst. Mustafa Erbilen, EMU-ATAUM academic staff member Süheyla Göktürk and EMU-ATAUM Student Group attended the visit which took place on Thursday, 23 December, 2021, at 2:30 p.m.
At the Martyrs' Families and Veterans Association, the visiting delegation from EMU-ATAUM was welcomed by the Association President Gürsel Benan and members of the Association's Executive Board.
EMU ATAUM President Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay Bülent Göktürk stated that the purpose of their visit was to emphasize that they always stand by the families of the martyrs, and to provide an environment for students to learn better about what the Turkish Cypriots went through in their Struggle for Existence and to transfer them to the next generations in the right way.
During the visit, Association President Gürsel Benan expressed his satisfaction with the EMU-ATAUM delegation's visit during this meaningful week and provided information about the martyrs who sacrificed their lives during the Turkish Cypriots' Struggle for Existence. Gursel Benan, who is also the child of a martyr, shared the memory of his father's martyrdom with the visitors, which created an emotional atmosphere.
EMU-ATAUM President Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay Bülent Göktürk presented a portrait of Atatürk to the President of the Association Gürsel Benan and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Canan Zeki presented Benan a Lefkara board panel. Association President Gürsel Benan also presented EMU-ATAUM President Göktürk a plaque of the association.
