Can Turkey defend its own interests?

Should Turkish Cypriots try to defend their own interests even if that amounts to hurting Turkey's interests? Or should they defend Turkish interests even if that requires their own interests be sacrificed? This is not an egg and chicken story, but a very serious issue that deserves a very serious evaluation. The question is of course also related to who the Turkish Cypriots are. Turks living on Cyprus? Cypriots of ethnic Turkish origin? What about those living abroad? Are they still Turkish Cypriots or what? 

Personally, I had given up identifying myself as a Cypriot, proudly believing I was a member of the Turkish nation. On a very sad 2013 February day I was told on a white screen, by the prime minister of the time that Turkish Cypriots became something like parasites for Turkey, while commenting on an irrelevant question. He did not use that exact wording, but that was the meaning. I was in my study room writing something while lending an ear to the news hour on TV. My wife brought a cup of Turkish coffee. "Oh my God, why are you crying?" she asked, seeing tears pouring out of my eyes. It was a very sad moment. I remembered once again that even if I was ethnically a Turk, I was a Turkish Cypriot and I was proud of it. However, I grew up in Cyprus with a very strong commitment to Turkey and with an understanding that if something was good for Turkey, irrespective whether it was in line with our immediate interests or not, it ought to be good for us as well. Otherwise, if something was good for Turkish Cypriots but bad for Turkey, in the long run it would be bad for us as well. That was what "the advocate of the national cause, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot struggle for a respectable life, honorable peace and wellbeing" was telling us anyhow. How could...