TRNC News 6.9.2017 Özgürgün: "Our people have shown the world they will not accept captivity”

The 43rd anniversary of the Yeşilırmak Resistance was commemorated yesterday, with remembrance ceremonies held for those who lost their lives defending the village.

In his address to mark the occasion, Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün stressed that the Yeşilırmak Resistance was one of the most significant events in the Turkish Cypriot struggle for existence. Özgürgün stated, “This resistance provides an important opportunity to understand and remember the challenges and struggles for the continuation of Turkish presence on this island, and illustrates how far the Turkish Cypriot people have come. By risking their lives, our people have shown the world that they will not accept any captivity despite the difficult circumstances of the Yeşilırmak Resistance, an honourable event in our history. Turkish Cypriots have achieved a free and independent state thanks to their will, determination, and their faith and trust in our Motherland Turkey”.

Furthermore, Özgürgün expressed the importance of passing down “legends” such as the Yeşilırmak Resistance to new generations stating, “I think that the current facts must be accepted on the Cyprus issue – it must be understood that we will never concede our sovereignty or Motherland Turkey’s guarantee.”

Çağlar and Özcenk will participate in PACE meetings on behalf of the TRNC Assembly

Members of the TRNC Assembly will attend meetings at the PACE Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee and the Political Affairs and Democracy Committee in Paris this week. Talks will also be held with the PACE President and Secretary-General as well as the European Council President in Strasbourg.

The Paris meeting will be held on September 5-6 and the Strasbourg meeting will be held on September 8-9, 2017.

Republican Turkish Party Deputy Mehmet Çağlar and National Unity Party Deputy (UBP) Erdal Özcenk will participate in the meetings.

Eastern Mediterranean University featured in this year’s World University Rankings

This week, the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) was the only university from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to be featured in the 2017-2018 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, continuing its success after being included in THE’s rankings last year.

The Times Higher Education rankings feature 1100 universities from 79 different countries and ranks universities based on criteria such as teaching, research, information transfer, international outlook, academic publications, international academic staff, international student numbers and social activities. The league table also ranks some of the best universities in the world including the University of Oxford, California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Stanford University, University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard and Princeton.

EMU was featured in the list of Turkish universities in the previous rankings, coming 173rd in the THE’s Developing Economies and BRIC Countries List. The successes of the EMU and the inclusion of Northern Cyprus on the list has caused various reactions in South Cyprus. (Halkın Sesi)