Hon. Mr. Premier, In one of your recent statements you said that if the present state of affairs in Cyprus continues, the events in Istanbul on 6th and 7th September, 1955, will be repeated.
What do you mean by saying "the present state of affairs" in Cyprus?
Do you mean the fact that tens of thousands of innocent Turks were uprooted by Turkish terrorists and forced to live in tents and barracks here and there like sheep in a fold?
Or do you mean the fact that a handful of Turkish terrorists are preventing Turkish Cypriots from buying goods in the free market, while they themselves buy and sell goods to their compatriots at three or four times the current prices?
Or do you mean the fact that a handful of Turkish terrorists miss no opportunity to provoke incidents in order to destroy the island's peace?
Or do you consider it wrong of the Cyprus Government to collect taxes from the Greeks for the supply of water and electricity when it supplies water and electricity to the Turks without collecting money from them?
Hon. Mr. Urguplu, I am certain that you can draw certain correct conclusions from these questions of mine, and I consider it unnecessary, therefore, to elaborate on the subject of the current situation. After all, this would be a vain effort on my part because you too are aware of the real situation although you pretended that you are not aware of it.
The only thing I would like to underline in my present letter is that your latest statement is the greatest blunder in your political career. It is impossible for anyone not to feel sorry for you because of this. The events of 6 and 7 September, 1955, are a stigma on the Turkish nation which will not be blotted out. Those who had created those events were tried by Yasi Ata. What is the difference between you and them? It is impossible for anyone to imagine that for the sake of political agitation you would commit so big a political blunder.
It is about time all of you in Turkey put an end to political agitation and worked for the progress - economic, educational and social - of thirty million Turks. Try to save the Turkish Cypriots not from the "claws of the Greeks", but from the inhuman oppression to which they are subjected by their terrorist leadership. Otherwise, the threats which are hurled by you and your like, without any reason or cause, are without any value. You would do well to consider that a war caused by you would bring misery and destruction to the Turkish nation and to mankind. It would be a pity if the tragedy of the Indo-Pakistani dispute has not served as a lesson to you.
With respect,
Dr Ihsan Ali
24/10/1965
