It is our duty to continue the struggle for the reunification of Cyprus and not to let the sacrifice of martyrs go to waste, Speaker of the Parliament Anita Demetriou[/B] said today.
In her address at the Petrakis Kyprianou High School in Larnaca where she laid a wreath at the hero's wreath laying ceremony, Mrs. Addressing the students, Demetriou said that their school "carries a heavy name, the name of the boy who, along with so many other heroes, has left us a huge legacy".
After expressing "pride and real awe before the greatness of the soul" of Petrakis Kypriakou, he said that at the same time he feels "deep sadness and pain because for forty-eight years we have been living next to barbed wire and occupying troops. Turkey continues to scratch our open wounds with its intransigent and provocative attitude."
It is our duty, he continued, "not to let the sacrifice of so many martyrs go to waste. It is our duty to continue with dignity the struggle for the reunification of our Cyprus, in line with UN resolutions and European principles and values, until the final vindication and until our people breathe the air of freedom."
As the Speaker said, "it is also our duty to remain faithful to the rules of international law. We know too well the suffering of war," she said, adding that "at this moment we have been watching for three weeks now millions of children, young, newborn, paying the price, experiencing the horror, taking the road of refugee and uprooting alone, and children with weapons defending their homeland."
In her address, Anita Demetriou referred to the "military attack launched by Russia against Ukraine" which she said "has awakened the nightmare for all humanity, for the entire planet. We stand by the hard-pressed people of Ukraine and support them in every possible way. Each and every one of us in our own way, but also collectively as a society, since every child is our child."
Every child, he continued, "has the right to live in a safe, peaceful environment close to his or her own people. The vision of peace and freedom must never be extinguished, it is deeply rooted in us, imprinted in our DNA, because it is precisely the heroes and heroines within us, like Petrakis Kyprianou, who left with a smile on his lips without considering death."
Referring to Petrakis Kyprianou, the Speaker of the Parliament said that "he was not afraid to live or die", noted that "his desire for freedom quickly led him to the bosom of EOKA" and referred to what she described as his rich activity, which culminated, even before he was 18 years old, 'in his last breath on 21 March 1957 for the vision of freedom, self-determination and union'.
Source :CNA
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