Speaking at the annual memorial service for those who died in Avgoros during the Turkish invasion, Fotiou said that the community "paid a heavy price for its participation in all the struggles for the freedom of our special homeland and the defence of its independence and territorial integrity. Today, 48 years later, Avgorou commemorates all those who threw themselves with self-denial, courage and bravery in the front line of the struggle for freedom and who, defying the numerical superiority of the enemy, gave what was most precious to them, their lives, for the defence of our ancestral homes".
In his speech, Fotiou also referred to the issue of the missing persons and said that "this is the most tragic aspect, as the list of their names is still long. More than half of the Greek Cypriots and Greeks included in the sad list are still missing."
He added that "48 years have passed since then and the situation remains tragic, causing pain and anguish to thousands of families of our compatriots.Despite the efforts of our side, this problem has not yet been resolved because Turkey constantly raises obstacles and refuses to take the decisions necessary for its resolution." He noted that "we have a duty towards them and towards the relatives of the missing persons to continue to struggle to determine the fate of our last missing person."
These days, he continued, "we are reliving those moments of betrayal and destruction that all of Cyprus experienced. Our ardent desire remains the reunification of our homeland, the end of the occupation and the safeguarding of human rights and basic freedoms by establishing conditions of freedom, security and prosperity for all the legitimate inhabitants of our island. This is the path followed by the President of the Republic and our side, the path of responsibility and consistency, the path of understanding and cooperation, the path of dynamism and perspective for a new and promising era for all citizens, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins."
As the Commissioner for the Presidency said, "unfortunately, the other side and especially the leadership of Turkey is following a different path." Every day we are witnessing the rise of Turkish intransigence, he said, adding that "the unacceptable and provocative claim of the Turkish side to accept the solution of two separate states as a precondition for the start of negotiations, the new fait accompli on the ground, the rejection of the bold confidence-building measures put forward by the President of the Republic demonstrate our goodwill and will to pursue a solution in the interest of both communities".
He also noted that "all this, together with Turkey's aggressive behaviour against the territorial integrity of Greece, but also against other countries, underlines the need to stand united and strong to defend our strong position in favour of the prevalence, at last, of international law. Whatever the difficulties, however, we must remain committed to our goal, for the realization of which we are indebted to history: to hand over to future generations a united, free and prosperous homeland."
This, he said, "is our unpaid debt to our homeland and to our heroes and martyrs; in this vindication of the struggle lies the vindication of their sacrifice." Today we remember again the brave defenders of Cypriot freedom and the tragic victims of the Turkish invasion, he said, adding that "their memory endures as the unquenchable voice of our collective conscience, so that we remain vigilant on the front lines of the struggle for the salvation of our small homeland and for the redemption of our betrayed and wronged people".
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