Northern Cyprus Lottery Image Blunder Commemorates ‘Wrong’ Side in Battle

Northern Cyprus Lottery Image Blunder Commemorates ‘Wrong’ Side in Battle.

Costfoto / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Lottery tickets are causing a political stink in the de facto state of . That’s after a batch designed to commemorate Turkish Cypriot resistance inadvertently depicted enemy Greek Cypriot fighters rejoicing with a captured Turkish flag.

Northern Cyprus LotteryThe fighters shown on the tickets are in fact Greek Nationalist paramilitaries celebrating after capturing a Turkish flag. (Image: Turkey Posts English)

In the words of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar, it s “a huge and unforgiveable” blunder.

The Turkish Cypriot Lottery Administration is working to recall thousands of unsold tickets designed to celebrate the 58th anniversary of the Battle of Tylliria.

Known to Greeks as the Battle of Kokkina, the 1964 conflict saw a group of outnumbered Turkish Cypriot fighters hold out. The battle was against Greek Cypriot armed forces and members of the Greek Nationalist paramilitary organization EOKA.

The Turkish Air Force eventually relieved the besieged fighters, which bombed Greek Cypriot positions that had surrounded Turkish Cypriot enclaves.

A decade later, Turkey invaded the north of Cyprus and partitioned the island, a division that continues to this day.

‘Great Mistake’

The image printed on the tickets was intended to depict the besieged fighters, known as the Erenköy Mujahideen, who are heroes in the eyes of Turkish Cypriots.

But the figures in the image shown holding a Turkish flag are in fact EOKA fighters celebrating after capturing the flag from a Turkish Cypriot stronghold four months before the Battle of Tylliria.

It is a great mistake to use the photographs taken by Greek-Cypriot soldiers and EOKA members as Erenköy Mujahideen in the lottery tickets printed by the State Lottery Administration to commemorate the glorious Erenköy Resistance,” complained Tatar.

“This is never acceptable,” he continued. “No matter what, you cannot humiliate our mujahideen, the glorious Erenköy resistance, our national struggle, and our saintly martyrs. No one has the right.

Investigation Launched

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said that an investigation had been launched into the incident and those responsible would be fired.

In an official statement, Osman Uzun, head of the lottery administration, asked for forgiveness.

We apologize to our people and our heroes of the Şanlı Erenköy Resistance for the image used as a result of an inadvertent mistake, he said.

But Turkish Cypriot newspaper Avrupa stoked the flames by accusing the lottery authority of deliberately doctoring the photo to obscure the image’s original location and context.

The draw, scheduled to take place on the August 8 anniversary of the battle, has been postponed for ten days. The jackpot has been raised from 500,000 to 1 million Turkish lira (US$56,000).

Article Sources
Ex-NFL Player Henry Ruggs Officially Pleads Guilty in Fatal DUI Case editorial policy.
  1. Louisiana Mother, Two Others Charged with Leaving Toddler in Car While Hitting Truck Stop Casino

Compare Accounts
×
Former Mashpee Chairman Cedric Cromwell Convicted in Casino Bribery, Extortion Case
Provider
Name
Description
Imperial Pacific International Wants to Reopen Imperial Palace Next Year  Where Does Conor McGregor Go From Here?  Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Futures Dip, QB Dak Prescott Out 6-8 Weeks  Suncity Took $920M in Illegal Proxy Bets, Macau Cops Tell Court  Triad Casino ‘Warlords’ Turned Over to China by Myanmar Junta  Kentucky Cockfighting Investigations Lead to Federal Indictments Against 17 People  Recall Effort Against Las Vegas Mayor Goodman Stopped as Coronavirus Complicates Petition Drive  Cricket Legend Shane Warne Dead, Spinner Engulfed in 1998 Betting Controversy  Louisiana House Passes St. Tammany Casino Bill, Motion Moves to Senate  Robert Telles, Suspect in Las Vegas Journalist’s Murder, All Smiles in Court