We are all moved by this day. Emotion and awe at the unveiling of the Monument to the Martyrs of the Turkish invasion, whose drama, like that of their relatives, shocks and overwhelms each and every one of us. A long-standing wish of the relatives of the missing persons of the city and the district of Limassol and of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Undeclared POWs and Missing Persons with your personal support, Mr. President, becomes a reality today.
I express our sincere thanks to the Mayor and the Municipal Council for the concession of the space, to the Jury for the evaluation of the works submitted, as well as to the creators of the project, the sculptor Mr. George Tsaras and the architect Mr. Sotiris Kostopoulos.
We are of course also grateful to the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Missing and Captured Persons, for our constant and sincere cooperation as an expression, precisely, of our respect and appreciation to every mother and father of missing persons, their spouses, brothers and sisters and their children.
Behind each missing person's case there is a great story of unparalleled courage and supreme dedication to our special homeland, which was so sorely tried in that bitter and betrayed summer of 1974.
One thousand six hundred and nineteen of our compatriots and our Greek brothers were recorded in the original list of the missing persons of the Cypriot tragedy. Great honour is due to them, as it is to all the heroes of our struggles to defend our freedom. All the names of both the missing and those who have been identified are listed on the back of the Monument.
In particular, however, this venerable Monument, in addition to our great appreciation and deep gratitude to each of them, symbolizes our sacred duty to them and their families not to prove ourselves inferior and trespassers to their sacrifice. At the same time, it also defines our promise that we will use every ounce of our strength and capabilities to do justice to their struggle and to shine the whole truth about each of our missing persons individually.
Here at the venerable and sacred monument, our young people will be taught that a sacrifice is never in vain, when it is made on the altar of the homeland and the high ideals it stands for. In this place, our national memory will be reborn every day and its principles will be passed on in perpetuity. To give courage to younger generations and faith that this land can be liberated again and its people can live in peace and security. Whatever the problems. Our efforts continue and intensify until the fate of our last missing person is determined. This is a duty and a national imperative for all of us towards our heroes, towards all of you, the relatives of our missing persons.
Glory and honour to all our missing persons, glory and honour to all our heroes.
(PM/SX)
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