“Flash... Flash... Flash...”
In my recent column, I discussed the problems facing our press and the inevitable contributions that the officially inaugurated “YDÜ Faculty of Communication Complex” will make to our country’s media sector. (Meanwhile, you can read my previous articles at www.cemkar.net.)
Today is November 15, 2006. This day has great significance for us. Today, we proudly and honorably celebrate the 23rd anniversary of the proclamation of the TRNC. As I considered what I could write about today, the first thing that came to mind was what the media—whose current problems I discussed the other day—did 23 years ago, when the Republic was proclaimed, and how it reported this important development.
So, in today’s column, I’m sharing the information I gathered through a brief search.
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The decision on independence, taken in great secrecy, kept news agencies and radio stations around the world busy for days, beginning on the morning of November 15, 1983. Sixty years earlier, Anadolu Ajansı, the official agency of the motherland that first announced the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey to the world, successfully carried out the same task in Cyprus, together with the TRNC’s official agency, Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs (TAK).
At 10:00 a.m., Anadolu Ajansı’s Cyprus Bureau in Yenişehir, which broadcast from Nicosia to Ankara using powerful radio transmitters, sent the following six-word bulletin to Ankara and, through its central system there, to news agencies and radio stations around the world, under the headline “flash...flash...flash...”: “The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has been proclaimed.”
At 10:08 a.m., Anadolu Ajansı sent the following report to the world. The famous British BBC Radio and the Reuters news agency carried Anadolu Ajansı’s report below at the same time, while TAK was also connecting with the American Associated Press.
“Flash... Flash... Flash... The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has been proclaimed Nicosia, November 15 (A.A.): The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed this morning. The Turkish Cypriot community proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus at 9:30 a.m. today. The decision was taken unanimously by the “Assembly of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus,” which held an extraordinary meeting amid demonstrations of affection by thousands of our compatriots.
At the same time, the TRNC’s official agency, TAK, also reported the news to the world via the American Associated Press.
TAK’s first sentences were:
“An historic step has been taken. An independent Turkish Republic has been established... Nicosia, November 15 (TAK) The Turkish Cypriot Community has taken another historic decision that will determine its destiny. The establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was approved by the Assembly today. At an extraordinary meeting held at 9:00 a.m. today, the Turkish Cypriot Federated Assembly unanimously approved the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and its declaration of independence.”
At 10:10 a.m. on the morning of November 15, 1983, Anadolu Ajansı also issued the following report, just ten minutes later: Nicosia, November 15, 1983 The Turkish Cypriot people today exercised “the right to self-determination,” one of the fundamental principles of the United Nations, and established a new state under the name “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” At its historic meeting this morning, the Turkish Cypriot Federated Assembly unanimously adopted “the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and its declaration of independence.” In a speech after this decision was taken, Rauf Denktaş, President of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus, congratulated the members of the Federated Assembly as the founding members of the Constituent Assembly, which would draft the constitution of the new Republic.
How did the newspapers report it?
The Turkish press in Cyprus also covered the enthusiasm among the people following the proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, announcing the decision to the public with the following headlines: Kıbrıs Postası: “The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has been proclaimed. A new page has opened in our history.”
Bozkurt: “We are independent at last.”
Halkın Sesi: “We await recognition.”
Söz: “Turkey became the only country to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Greeks must put their emotions aside and recognize the Republic that has been established.”
***
The establishment of the Republic was announced to the world amid this excitement and joy. More important than establishing the Republic was keeping it alive. And, aware of this importance, the people of the TRNC stood firm and supported their Republic and their country for years. No matter how ruthless, low-minded, dishonorable, and deceitful the policies they faced were, the people of the TRNC have proved, by keeping the Republic alive for 23 years, that they possess the virtue to sustain it.
Happy Republic Day...