The 11 Turkish Cypriots who vanished 61 years ago on May 13, 1964, while on their way to work and were later found to have been abducted and executed by Greek Cypriot forces, were commemorated in a solemn ceremony held at the Missing Bus Memorial in İskele.
The ceremony, marking the anniversary of the massacre, began with wreath-laying at the memorial, followed by a moment of silence and the raising of flags accompanied by the National Anthem.
The first speech was delivered by Durmuş Esentan, grandson of martyr Hasan Durmuş, who spoke of the indescribable pain left behind by the 11 victims.
He recounted how his grandmother, father, and aunt had long held out hope while enduring immense hardship.
Zarifşen Menteşoğlu, President of the Association of People from Larnaca, stated that the memory of the 11 Turkish Cypriots—executed in a mass killing simply for being Turkish—would continue to be kept alive.
Ali Abdurrahmanoğlu, Head of the İskele Branch of the Cyprus Turkish Freedom Fighters Association, recalled that the killings were part of the broader struggle for Turkish Cypriot survival and highlighted the heavy price paid by the community.
İskele Mayor Hasan Sadıkoğlu noted that this was the first official commemoration ceremony held at the Missing Bus Memorial, which was built using municipal resources and inaugurated last year.
He paid tribute to the 11 individuals, saying they were fathers, grandfathers, husbands, and brothers who had left their homes to earn a living, only to be brutally murdered in a treacherous attack.
President Ersin Tatar, speaking at the ceremony, remembered the martyrs with reverence, stating that the attacks by Greek Cypriots against Turkish Cypriots must never be forgotten and should serve as historical lessons.
“What happened on May 13, 1964, was part of a barbaric campaign to erase the Turkish Cypriots from the island,” he said.
Tatar also emphasized the presence of relatives of the martyrs who had traveled from various countries, underlining the unity of Turkish Cypriots worldwide in defending the just cause of the TRNC.
He firmly reiterated: “There is no turning back from the two-state solution; the federation fantasy is a betrayal to our martyrs.”
Referring to the Cyprus negotiations, Tatar noted that a new roadmap was being followed, based on sovereign equality.
“Neither Türkiye is the old Türkiye, nor is the Eastern Mediterranean the same. The world has changed in 61 years, and so have the Turkish Cypriots. The path of two states is irreversible,” he stressed.
Concluding his remarks by addressing the youth, President Tatar highlighted the importance of teaching history accurately: “If we don’t know our history, others will come and tell us something else. Peace and security were established in 1974 with the arrival of the Turkish army, and peace has prevailed in these lands ever since.”
The ceremony ended with prayers for the martyrs.
brt
