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 Born
in Nicosia in 1906,
Dr Fazıl Küçük (pronounced Kuchuk) qualified as a
general medical practitioner from Switzerland, and returned to
work in Cyprus in 1938. He became a tireless champion of
Turkish-Cypriot rights and a vigorous opponent of British
colonial rule in Cyprus.One of his
campaigns, which succeeded after some 15 years, was to persuade
the British rulers to transfer the administration of Turkish
Cypriot schools and Evkaf,
the Turkish religious fund. During the
1950s, Dr Küçük set up his own political party, established
the first Turkish labour union in Cyprus and launched his
newspaper Halkin
Sesi (The Peoples' Voice). Despite lawsuits and closures for
criticising the colonial administration,
Halkın Sesi continues
to be published to this day. Dr Küçük
represented the Turkish-Cypriots at the independence talks in
1959 and signed the agreement establishing the Republic of
Cyprus on behalf of his community. He was elected the first
Vice-President of the Republic
of Cyprus.
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Biography
of
Dr Fazıl Küçük
(Photo
by H. Sadrazam) |
However, this
partnership republic could exist for only three years. In 1963,
the Greek-Cypriots destroyed the bi-communal Republic of Cyprus,
by force of arms, in order to unite Cyprus with Greece. Part and
parcel of this bloody attempt was the destruction of 103
Turkish-Cypriot villages and massacre of hundreds of innocent
Turkish-Cypriots. From 1963 to 1974, the Turkish-Cypriots were
forced to live in some 32 enclaves under virtual military siege.
Although Rauf
Denktash took over as the Turkish-Cypriot leader in 1973, Dr
Küçük never ceased working for the cause, even during his
illness. He passed away, in Westminster Hospital-London on
January 15, 1984. Soon after the establishment of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus, in his last public
statement he declared that with the new Turkish-Cypriot
state he had been "born into a new life". |
