President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes a statement at the July 20 Peace and Freedom Day Official Ceremony.

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's speech;

Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Esteemed Chairmans, our esteemed veterans, our valued guests, my dear brothers and sisters, I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings, respect, and affection.

I am deeply proud and pleased to be with you on the 51st anniversary of the Peace Operation, which brought peace and freedom to the Turkish Cypriot people. I thank all my brothers and sisters who embraced us with affection in Nicosia and wholeheartedly celebrate July 20th Peace and Freedom Day. I send my greetings and love to all my brothers and sisters across Cyprus. The hearts of your 86 million brothers and sisters in Türkiye beat with you today, just as they did yesterday. On the 51st anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, I commemorate with mercy our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Turkish Cypriot people's struggle for existence. I pray to God for a healthy and fruitful life for our heroic veterans and express my gratitude to each and every one of them. On this occasion, I commemorate with gratitude the then Prime Minister, the late Bülent Ecevit, who assumed the decisive leadership of the Cyprus Peace Operation; our Deputy Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan; Alparslan Türkeş, who devoted his life to the Cyprus cause; our martyred Prime Minister, Adnan Menderes, who laid the legal groundwork for the Cyprus Peace Operation with the London-Zurich Agreement; and our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fatih Rüştü Zorlu; and all our statesmen who contributed.

THOSE WHO DREAMED OF ENOSIS WERE FAILED

I commemorate here with respect the late Dr. Fazıl Küçük, who led the Turkish Cypriot struggle for sovereignty and freedom, shouldering the fate of a nation, and Rauf Denktaş, the founding President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. First and foremost, I would like to emphasize this: The Cyprus Peace Operation was a legitimate and necessary step taken within the framework of guarantor obligations against the systematic violations and attacks targeting the Turkish Cypriot people. 51 years ago today, the glorious Turkish army, together with the heroic mujahideen and our Cypriot brothers, disappointed those dreaming of Enosis. Peace and tranquility have returned to the island. With the arrival of our Turkish soldiers in the Cyprus Peace Operation, the entire world saw that the Turkish Cypriots were not alone. The process leading up to the operation is as crucial as the Peace Operation itself. Our youth, in particular, need to be thoroughly familiar with the events that took place not just 50-60 years ago, but also engrave them in their memories. Now, my dear brothers and sisters, that dark period that started with the EOKA terror in 1955 and kept the Turkish Cypriots under oppression and cruelty until 1974 is engraved in the hearts of our nation.

WE NEVER FORGET WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

EOKA's gun was aimed not only at life, but also at identity, honor, and existence. The Turkish Cypriot people, the island's essential element since 1571, were forced to live as refugees in their own homeland. It's difficult to describe the gravity of those black roses, the depth of the suffering. But there's one quote that sums it all up: not all the flowers of Cyprus could erase the stench of the blood Makarios inflicted on the island. Yes, this land, a slice of heaven, bore witness to such days of brutality that even words fail to describe. Now some are saying,"Let's leave the past completely behind." But how can we forget the beach massacre, the bloody Christmas atrocity, our young people who fell to the ground during the Erenköy resistance? How can we forget the mothers and sisters who went house to house collecting sheets for the dozens of people massacred while awaiting recovery at Nicosia State Hospital? How can we forget the efforts of the Çetin Kaya Sports Club, the Cyprus Turkish Teachers Association, the sacrifices of the Cyprus Turkish Red Crescent Society and the village committees? Is it possible to forget the Bayraktar Turkish Regiment, the Turkish Resistance Organization, the mujahideen who emerged from each of your families? How can we forget the oppression inflicted on the Turkish Cypriots, the suffering they endured, the embargoes that have been imposed for half a century? With all due respect, we will never forget what has been done to our Turkish Cypriot brothers.