Mountaineer Birkan Uzun remembered on first anniversary of his death
PRESIDENT Ersin Tatar and Parliamentary Speaker Zorlu Töre paid tribute to Turkish Cypriot mountaineer Birkan Uzun, who lost his life in a skiing accident in the United States, at a commemoration ceremony at Lefkoşa Cemetery on the first anniversary of his death
National Education Minister Nazım Çavuşoğlu, Birkan Uzun’s family and loved ones also attended the ceremony held last Saturday.
In his speech at the event, President Tatar recalled Mr Uzun’s efforts to promote the TRNC by aiming to climb the tallest mountains in each continent.
“Our duty is to keep his name alive and to share his beliefs and thoughts and carry them to the future,” Mr Tatar said.
“We will continue to tell the success story of the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriot people.”
Birkan Uzun “set an example for the Turkish Cypriot youth”, the President said, expressing the “great pain” he stills feels.
Stating that a photograph of Mr Uzun unfurling the TRNC flag on the summit of Antarctica’s Mount Vinson hangs on the wall of his office, Mr Tatar said that Mr Uzun “understood the Turkish Cypriot people’s feelings very well and made an effort to tell the world about them”.
Mr Töre said in his speech: “One year ago, Birkan Uzun gave his life . . . He did not drop the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus flag and planted it there on Mount Vinson. This is the real definition of heroism. Perhaps none of us will achieve the success that Uzun has, which has made us proud.” Mr Töre added that “Birkan Uzun’s soul will always rest in peace and we will always remember him in our prayers and as a national hero” and that the “Turkish Cypriot youth should always follow Birkan Uzun’s example and aim for the summit”.
Mr Uzun, 28, lived and worked in the US after obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He rose to fame after becoming the first Cypriot — Turkish Cypriot or Greek Cypriot — to successfully climb Mount Vinson on December 16, 2021.
Mr Uzun had shared a video of himself, in which he said: “I am very proud to be able to wave our TRNC flag at this summit.
“I am telling the stories of the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriots to anyone who does not know this flag here.”
The software engineer’s expedition to Mount Vinson had been the fifth of seven planned climbs to the top of the highest mountain on every continent as part of the “Seven Summits Project”.
He had been due to scale the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia and Mount Everest in Nepal but his ambitions were tragically cut short when he lost his life in a skiing accident on Mount Bachelor in Oregon, USA, on New Year’s Eve, 2021.