[/QUOTE]
Turkey continues to scratch Cyprus' open wounds
with its intransigent policy[/QUOTE] in the enclosed city of Famagusta and the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone, said Speaker of the House of Representatives Anita Demetriou.
In a greeting by the Speaker of the Parliament, read by DPA - Co-operation MP Michael Yakoomi, at the annual national memorial service of the hero of the liberation struggle of EOKA Petrakis Kyprianou, held on Sunday 20 March at the Church of Agia Marina in Ora, Mrs. Demetriou expressed pride because she is "a Cypriot, but also because the birthplace of the hero Petrakis Kyprianou is also my birthplace."
But I feel deep sadness and shame, because forty-eight years after the sacrifice of the worthy son of the homeland and so many other fighters, we live next to barbed wire and occupation troops. The memories of the coup and the brutal Turkish invasion are painful, while Turkey continues to scratch our open wounds with its intransigent and defiant attitude in the enclosed city of Famagusta and the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone."
He added that it is the duty of all of us not to let the sacrifice of so many martyrs go to waste. Our duty is to continue the struggle for the liberation and reunification of our long-suffering homeland, always in line with UN resolutions and European principles and values, until the final vindication of the Cypriot people."
In her address, Anita Demetriou said that "we cannot help but think of the Ukrainian people. The military attack launched by Russia against Ukraine has awakened the nightmare of a widespread military conflict both for the old continent and for the entire planet."
As the Cypriot Parliament, she continued, "respecting the decisions of the European Union and the rules of international law, we declare our full support for the hard-pressed people of Ukraine."
Referring to Petrakis Kyprianou, Ms Demetriou said that we pay "tribute to a boy who managed to enter the pantheon of the immortals, to a child who was not afraid to live or die. Rich was the action of our compatriot from Larnaca in his short life, heroic was his death after he breathed his last breath for the vision of freedom, self-determination and union" just before he turned 18 on March 21, 1957.
He also noted that "eighteen days after the death of Grigoris Afxentiou, Petrakis Kyprianou became the first EOKA guerrilla to put into practice the spirit of Afxentiou's sacrifice. He had not yet celebrated his eighteenth birthday, but his maturity and commitment to ideals and values gathered the wisdom of centuries."
Source: CNA
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