Victims of the “Lost Bus” massacre remembered in ceremony

Eleven Turkish Cypriots who were abducted, executed and thrown into a blind well after disappearing in 1964 were commemorated during a ceremony held at the Lost Bus Memorial.

The victims, remembered as the “Lost Bus Martyrs,” were honoured on the anniversary of one of the painful chapters of the Turkish Cypriot struggle for existence.

The commemoration ceremony held at the Lost Bus Memorial was attended by Minister of National Education Nazım Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Labour and Social Security Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu, İskele District Governor Ertuğrul Toroslu, members of parliament, İskele Mayor Hasan Sadıkoğlu, representatives of institutions and organisations, local schools and relatives of the martyrs.

The ceremony began with the laying of wreaths at the memorial, followed by a moment of silence and the raising of flags accompanied by the Turkish National Anthem.

Delivering the first speech at the ceremony, Larnacans Association President Zarifşen Menteşoğlu said they would continue working to preserve the memory of the 11 Turkish Cypriots who were executed in a mass killing.

Menteşoğlu stated that the victims had been killed solely because they were Turkish Cypriots and emphasised that the Lost Bus incident remained one of the most painful pages in the Turkish Cypriot struggle for existence.

He said the victims were not merely passengers on a bus, but representatives of the determination of Turkish Cypriots to maintain their existence on the island, stressing that the incident had left deep scars on Turkish Cypriot history.

Following the recitation of the poem “Lost Bus” by student Ahmet İbrahim Demir, the ceremony continued with a speech by İskele Mayor Hasan Sadıkoğlu.

Sadıkoğlu recalled that the 11 Turkish Cypriots had set out for work in order to provide for their families before being abducted and brutally murdered.

Reading the names of the martyrs one by one, Sadıkoğlu said the pain had not diminished over the years and remained as fresh as ever, especially for the families of the victims.

He described the Lost Bus Memorial not only as a structure, but as a symbol of shared pain and historical memory, reiterating calls for the commemoration ceremony to be included in the official state ceremony programme.

Sadıkoğlu said this was an important duty of loyalty toward the martyrs and their families, adding that societies which forget their past cannot build their future, and that keeping alive the memory of the martyrs and passing this awareness on to younger generations was a shared responsibility.

Following another poem titled “Lost Bus” recited by student Sabahat Orkun, the commemoration ceremony concluded with prayers.

Meanwhile, the documentary “Lost Bus” directed by Fevzi Tanpınar will be broadcast tonight at 20:30 on TRT Avaz.