The ceremony was held in front of the Malya Martyrs’ Monument in Aydınköy.
The ceremony which was attended by President Ersin Tatar, the Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre, the Commander of the Cyprus Turkish Security Forces Major General Zorlu Topaloğlu, the Mayor of Güzelyurt Mahmut Özçınar as well as other state and government officials began with the laying of wreaths followed by a minutes silence and the flags being raised to the reciting of the national anthem.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Ersin Tatar said that the sacrifices of the martyrs will never be forgotten.
“We owe our independence and freedom to the martyrs who unselfishly gave their lives for us”, he said.
Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot people had put up a heroic resistance against the Greeks and the Greek Cypriots who had set out to annihilate all Turkish Cypriots on the island.
He added that despite the overwhelming odds against them, Turkish Cypriots, with the support of Türkiye, had prevailed, creating their own state.
The attacks by Greek Cypriots against the Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of Malya and Bağlarbaşı villages then turned into a real massacre in 1974.
