Filoxenia Conference Centre, Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Today we pay tribute to all those who defended the Republic of Cyprus during the bloody conflicts of 1963-'64.
This honour is the realisation of my commitment to you, as the minimum sign of the State's gratitude to each and every one of you.
This is because your struggle, as well as that of those who gave their lives in the struggle for freedom in its long history, has enabled all of us to build a modern, prosperous and democratic state.
As you well know, Turkey from the mid-1950s set as its goal the final partition of the island.
But thanks to the heroic liberation struggle of EOKA in 1955-1959, Cyprus managed, after centuries of occupation, to gain its independence through the Zurich-London Agreements in 1959.
Unfortunately, in the newly established Constitution of the newly established Republic of Cyprus, there were heterogeneous provisions and provisions that made the functioning of the state non-functional, with the result that the danger of paralysis of the state was evident, as was seen with the first problems with the non-approval of tax bills in the Parliament.
The realization of the impossibility led the late National Archbishop Makarios to proceed in November 1963 with the submission of 13 points for amending the Constitution in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the State.
This, instead of leading to dialogue, led to the long-prepared Turkish Cypriot mutiny with the bloody events of Christmas 1963 in Nicosia.
It is thanks to your heroic resistance, sacrifices and self-denial that the Republic of Cyprus was saved, neutralizing the plans of Turkey and its enablers here.
It was your resistance that allowed the Cyprus Government to go to the UN Security Council in March 1964 and achieve Resolution 186, which fully recognized the legitimacy of the Cyprus Government despite the illegal withdrawal of the Turkish Cypriots from the positions they held under the Constitution.
Unfortunately, what you prevented with your struggles in 1963 could not be avoided in 1974 after the treacherous coup of the Greek-speaking members of the Junta, which was exploited by Turkey, and under the pretext of the security of the Turkish Cypriots, invaded and has since occupied 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
At this point I could not fail to express the gratitude of the Cypriot State to those who resisted in order to safeguard legality and democracy and to those who gave their lives, went missing or suffered the horrors in order to save the Republic of Cyprus.
Since then, and despite the historic compromises made by the Greek Cypriot side, all efforts of both my predecessors and myself to reach a solution aimed at freeing our homeland from occupation have failed as a result of Turkey's illegitimate and unacceptable claims.
Claims that reaffirm its obvious time-honoured goals of either turning Cyprus into a protectorate controlled by itself or achieving partition through the legitimisation of the illegal moratorium it imposed on the occupied part of our homeland.
This was again demonstrated by the Conference on Cyprus held in Crans Montana in July 2017 and confirmed by the written proposals submitted by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leader to the informal five-party Conference on Cyprus between 27-29 April 2021 in Geneva.
Proposals calling for the abandonment of the solution basis, as set out in the relevant Security Council Resolutions, calling for a solution on the basis of two independent States.
What I want to assure you is that we will not accept and we will not allow - and I believe that this is in the thoughts, in the programmes of every Cypriot leader. I am leaving in a few weeks, but I am sure that those who will succeed me will have the same view, the same position, the same duty that no one, no one, will allow - the abolition of the Republic of Cyprus for the sake of any solution.
I want to be clear. What we have sought and what has been our struggle all these years is to create a state that is consistent, that is fully interwoven with the principles and values of the UN. With our accession to the EU to be in line with European law for the protection of human rights, for a peaceful and creative partnership and coexistence with the Turkish Cypriots. We have never sought confrontation, warlike confrontation. We have been aware of this, and the leadership in 1974 rightly co-decided that it was through peaceful dialogue that a peaceful and dignified solution would be found. Finding a solution that to be lasting must be workable, must ensure normality, must ensure political equality, but not political inequality.
It is not possible for the minority community - we do not say minority. We want them to have their rights, we want to respond to their legitimate concerns, but at the same time they cannot have a veto on every decision of the central government. In this way we are subverting equality and turning into another regime. One where the minority community rules the majority community. Where is the political equality? Where is democracy? Where can the functioning of the state be guaranteed in this way?
This is what we have highlighted, this is what we have sought, taking into account the fact that Turkey insisted - despite the fact that in Crans-Montana for the first time the UN Secretary General himself raised the issue of the abolition of guarantees, of interventionist rights, the presence of an occupying army - that there is no other option but to maintain the anachronistic guarantees, the right to intervene, the presence of occupying troops, and a positive vote for every decision of the central government.
These were the reasons that led to the shipwreck, but these were also the pretexts he used to say that 'the efforts failed and therefore what we are seeking is two independent states'.
The first honours event took place on 28 December 2017, with a decision taken in May 2017 - after decades we felt the need that all those who could not be included in the registers of the fighters of '63-'64 should at the very least be honoured by the state. Thus, by decision of the Council of Ministers, a large number were honoured for the first time on 28 December. With a provision, however, in the decision of the Council of Ministers, due to the lack of the register of fighters '63-'64 that in case it was not possible to register all the fighters in the register with that initial award, the due honours would be awarded at a later stage.
A provision which we are implementing with tonight's event and the awarding of the honours, while the accompanying medal will be sent to the recipients.
A provision which we are implementing with tonight's event and the awarding of the honours, while the accompanying medal will be sent to the recipients.
What I would like to point out is that if it is found that some of the 1963-'64 fighters are missing from the Register, the decision of the Council of Ministers remains in force and therefore I call upon my friend the President of the Pancyprian Association of Volunteer Fighters 1963-1964 to include in the list of those honoured those who demonstrably contributed to the resistance of the 1963-1964 struggles, but by mistake were not included in the Register.
I have no doubt that in a similar case whichever President or Government succeeds me will fully honour the decision of the Cabinet.
I wish to express my gratitude to you for your struggles for freedom, and for the love and trust with which you have surrounded me during the last ten years of my administration.
I would also like to congratulate and thank the President and the Members of the Board of Directors of the Pancyprian Association of Volunteer Fighters 1963-1964 for taking the initiative to pay due tribute to all of you.
(PM/NG)
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