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- Ελληνικά
It is with great pleasure, but also with feelings of honour, emotion and pride that I address to Greeks everywhere sincere congratulations and warm wishes on the occasion of the national anniversary of March 25, 1821.
The beginning of the Greek Revolution of 1821 is the most important and most decisive historical event in the modern history of the Greek Nation. It was then that the Greeks, after four centuries of slavery, enthralled by the unquenchable desire for the supreme good of freedom, raised the glorious banner of revolution to throw off the Ottoman yoke, claiming their hereditary right to democracy. A Revolution that not only changed the course of the history of the Greek nation, but managed to move the whole of Europe and the world, giving rise to a broad movement of philhellenism, which provided practical and substantial support to the rebellious Greeks.
The fighters of 1821 moved for "freedom or death" with the sacrifice of the warriors of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis as a beacon, who with great bravery raised their mental stature against the abysmal material and numerical superiority of the Persian Empire, the world superpower of the time. All those who were the first teachers of a touching truth, which Palamas, with his source of lyricism, squeezed into two verses: "the greatness of peoples is not measured by the acre. The Greek Revolution of 1821 reflects the passion of a people who were aware of their heavy national heritage, which 400 years of slavery were not enough to assimilate. Not only in these adverse conditions it maintained but strengthened its national identity, its authenticity and, defying every danger, engaged in an unequal struggle, a struggle the like of which is rarely recorded in the history of peoples.
Greece has always been the model for Cypriot fighters. Hence the fact that Cyprus participated in all the struggles of the Greek people, from the Revolution of 1821 to the Balkan and Macedonian Games, the Asia Minor Campaign, World War I and World War II. The statistics on the number of Cypriots who voluntarily took part in the national struggles of Greece are both indicative and shocking. Even if they paid dearly, whatever the price, as in July 1821 with the hanging of Archbishop Kyprianos, the Ethnic Martyr of Romanity.
At the same time, it is no coincidence that the liberation struggle of EOKA of 1955-59, the purest struggle of Cypriot Hellenism, whose anniversary we are commemorating in a few days, was developed and based on the vision and example of the Greek Revolution. The fighters and heroes of EOKA were inspired by the strong belief that they were reviving the heroic epic of the Greek Revolution, hence their nicknames were almost all heroes of 1821.
Today, more than 200 years after the Greek Revolution, we in Cyprus, in every direction, address the message that we continue to strive towards our non-negotiable destination for an honourable, dignified and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.
We do not compromise, we do not forget, we do not become complacent. The current state of affairs, which perpetuates the occupation and creates new fait accompli, cannot be the future of our country, cannot be the future of our children.
Our deep concern and our desire for reunification leads us to take concrete and targeted initiatives that will lead to the resumption of meaningful talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana, with the sole aim of resolving the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework and the principles and values of the European Union. It is our obligation, but also a national necessity, to liberate our land, to put an end to the current unacceptable state of affairs as soon as possible.
An end that ends the occupation, frees our homeland from guarantees and foreign troops and ensures the inalienable human rights and basic freedoms of all Cypriots, European citizens. A workable and sustainable solution, which will effectively reunite our people and our land and allow us to look to the future with optimism.
A reunification that safeguards European principles and values, shapes opportunities for growth and prosperity, ensures stability in Cyprus and the region and allows our country to realise its full potential. The appointment of the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy as recognition of our political will, as a result of our own persistent efforts, always in cooperation with Greece and our partners in the European Union, the personal interest of the Secretary General himself, as well as the personal interest of the UN Secretary General, as he said, in the creation of a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza, can make a decisive contribution to the effort to establish conditions of security and cooperation.
The appointment of the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy as recognition of our political will, as a result of our own persistent efforts, always in cooperation with Greece and our partners in the European Union, the personal interest of the Secretary General himself, as he said, in the creation of a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza, can make a decisive contribution to the effort to establish conditions of security and cooperation. We have a duty and obligation to deliver to our children a Cyprus without barbed wire and dividing lines, without uncertainty and worries for the next day, for the future of our children.
This is our duty and obligation, but also the essential tribute to the most important national anniversary of Hellenism, of Greeks everywhere. This is our duty and obligation to the heroes of the 21st century and to all those who followed their example. To all those who with self-denial and heroism offered what was most precious to them, their own lives on the altar of freedom. In this effort, in this struggle, Greece and Cyprus, Cyprus and Greece, we march together!
(RM/GS/EATH)
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