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- Ελληνικά
It is with feelings of special honour and immense emotion that I am here tonight among you here in the remote heroic Mammari to pay due tribute to the last dead EOKA rebel, the hero Savvas Rottsidis, a worthy son of your community.
Savvas Rottsidis, son of the large family of Georgios and Anastasia Rottsidis, brother of Loizos, Andreas, Irini and Polymnia, was born in 1935 and grew up in Mammari. He completed his education at the village primary school and subsequently attended the Samuel School in Nicosia. He later worked first at the Greek Mining Company as an accountant and then as a storekeeper at the Mitserourou mine. He joined EOKA from the beginning of the struggle and was active in the mountains of Machairas and in the Pitsilia guerrilla groups under the pseudonym 'Palvis'. He successfully cooperated with the groups of Gregory Afxentios, Stylianos Lena and other fighters, supplying the Organization with quantities of explosives.
Savvas Rottsidis was distinguished for his bravery, daring, determination and ethos. He was constantly foiling plans for daring attacks against the conquerors. He was so familiar with militant action that during his time as a guerrilla he wrote a play in which he presented various aspects of the armed struggle of EOKA in the mountains of Cyprus.
On 18 November 1955 he took part in the attack on the warehouses where explosives were stored at the Mitsero mine, which was the main source of the Organization's supply of dynamite.
He was arrested by the colonial authorities on 13 November 1956 at his home in Mitsero on charges of concealing weapons. He was imprisoned and brutally tortured, first in the Omorphita detention centre and then in the Platres detention centre. In order to avoid the death sentence, he promised his interrogators that he would lead the authorities to a mountainous area of the village of Agios Epiphanios and point out an alleged hideout where Stylianos Lenas had taken refuge. At some point along the way he escaped their attention and managed to escape.
Unable to walk and suffering, he fled to his sister's house in Mammari, where he hid for several days. He then went first to the Morphou area where he joined the group of Nikos Samarou, and then to the villages of Agios Ioannis Malounda, Palaichori and Polystypos. By order of Digenis he remained in hiding and without active participation in the Organization until his reunion with the Pitsilia - Troodos groups of Lambros Kavkalidis and the section leader Andreas Avgusti. With them he participated in various operations that included ambushes against English patrols and attacks against military targets.
On 25 November 1958, Rochidis and his comrade Roger Sipillis, approaching a water source to carry water to their hideout in the "Skouri" area of Agridia village, were ambushed by Englishmen who, violating the then existing ceasefire, opened fire on them. Savvas was mortally wounded while his comrade-in-arms managed to escape seriously wounded. Savvas Rottsidis at the age of 23 passed into immortality and was recorded in history as the last dead guerrilla of the then insurmountable struggle of the Greeks of Cyprus.
On the morning of 25 November 1958, the news concerning the death of the young Greek Cypriot was broadcast on the radio. "A Greek Cypriot was shot and killed this morning near the village of Agridia by men of the security forces, who had noticed two men acting suspiciously [...]. On the evening of 24-25 November, Savvas Rottsidis and his fellow soldier, Roger Sipillis, left their hideout in Agros to get water. However, they fell into a British ambush during which Rochidis was killed while Sipillis managed to escape badly wounded. The death of the hero Savvas Rochidis proves once again the character of the colonialists since the ambush of 25 November was set up during a truce!"
The body of Rochidis was taken by the authorities to the sanatorium of Kyperounda. His parents were called to receive his lifeless body and after they dutifully injected it with a bridal suit, as befitted their son, because, as they said, "he married freedom", they carried it home, where they were greeted by a crowd of people who came from all over Cyprus to bid him farewell.
Finding irresistible strength and courage, they ordered the bells to ring resurrection bells and offered kurabies to the people, as they used to do at weddings.
His father, the man who imbued Savvas with the ideals of Hellenism as a true patriot, proudly declared, addressing his fellow countrymen: "I am not at all sorry for the death of my son. I am proud of him. He fought for two years in the freedom army and died a hero. His honor and our honor. His memory will be eternal. Villagers, courage! Long live EOKA!"
The burial of Savvas Rottsidis took place, honorably, in the courtyard of the old church of St. George of the village. There, his fellow villagers and a crowd of people bid him farewell with resurrection bells.
His name was later given in honour to a National Guard camp in Agioi Trimithias. In his memory, on August 11, 1961, the association "National Association of Young Rottsidis Mammari" was founded, with remarkable and commendable national, religious, sports, social and cultural activities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The acritical heroic community of Mammari nurtured other worthy children who gave their lives for their country in 1974. Some of them are now missing. Today, standing on the dividing line of our homeland, the acritical heroic community of Mammari unfortunately gazes at our occupied territories and stands its ground by guarding Thermopylae.
At this point I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of you who, despite all the problems, challenges and dangers you face due to the proximity of the Turkish outposts, continue tirelessly and persistently to live and create on the land you received from your ancestors, refusing to abandon it to the ravages of time.
I am also well aware of the efforts made by the management and teachers of Mammari Primary School to keep alive the memory of our heroes and occupiers. To this end, I congratulate them for their excellent educational work.
I am also informed that the youth of the community participate with enthusiasm and fervour in all national anniversaries and anti-communist events. I congratulate them and urge them to always be at the forefront of the struggles of Cyprus. Our children, the new generation, walking in the bright footsteps of their heroic ancestors, send out the hopeful message of the continuity of Hellenism on our island.
Compatriots,
Listening to the messages of the EOKA struggle, we too have a duty to put the interests of the homeland above personal benefits and expediencies, and single-mindedly move forward in the hope of achieving our goal for a free and prosperous Cyprus.
Savvas Rottsidis and our heroes point to our own debt to the homeland. We owe it to them, to ourselves and to future generations to make every possible effort for its liberation and reunification. We will not give up the struggle until the much-needed solution to the Cyprus problem is achieved, which will guarantee the legitimacy, human rights and civil liberties of all the inhabitants of the island.
We bind ourselves from the depths of our souls as the Most Merciful God will place the soul of Savvas Rottsidis and all those who have fallen in our national struggles in the Kingdom of Heaven, and make them participants in His own blessedness.
Thank you.
(GS/EATH)
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