It is with great emotion that I attend with you today the ceremony of unveiling the sculpture in honour of an important political personality for our country, that of Glafkos Clerides.
A historical personality, who was renowned, recognized and appreciated by colleagues and opponents at local and international level.
An accomplished leader, who left an indelible stamp of his example on the political life of the country, through the ethos, modesty and pure patriotism that distinguished him.
Allow me, in this context, before any other reference, to congratulate the late Mayor Andreas Gavrielides, and the current Mayor and the members of the Yermasogeia Municipal Council, for this initiative, as a minimum sign of respect, gratitude and honour to the man and politician Glafkos Clerides and his high contribution to his country.
This initiative primarily honours the ethos and philosophy that characterised his political activity, but also the universal human values of freedom, peace and democracy which he served with passion.
For if anything marked Glafkos Clerides as a man, it was the fact that he was always a fighter for democracy and a visionary for peace.
It was the prevalence of these two principles and values that prompted him, despite his young age, to volunteer to join the British Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
To subsequently play a leading role both in the uprising of Cypriot Hellenism against colonialism, and subsequently as a leading leader and pillar of the Republic of Cyprus.
It is these two principles and values, as well as his unfailing love for his country, that guided his steps and his handling of the years of national discord and the tragic events that followed, succeeding in reconstructing the state and safeguarding the international status of the tottering Republic of Cyprus under extreme circumstances.
It is the deep commitment to these two principles and values that later defined the creation of the Democratic Rally, based on pluralism, pluralism, acceptance of opposing views and the exercise of constructive criticism.
The same principles have determined his choices over time and have been the basis of his standing in the public life of the Republic of Cyprus, the important work he carried out during his decade of governance, culminating in Cyprus' accession to the European Union, and the sum of his actions in his political career.
As the symbolism of the sculpture we are unveiling today suggests, Glafkos Clerides, in his more than five decades of political career, through the skills, wisdom, moderation, foresight, bravery in decisions and boldness that characterized him, was the good steward of Cyprus.
The Cyprus that he adored and served, closely associating his name with events that defined its modern history, progress and prosperity.
The Cyprus that, unfortunately, and despite all his efforts, he never got to see free.
A legacy that he left to us, indicating as a duty to work with vigour, always promoting national unity and unanimity, in order to achieve the reunification of our homeland and its freedom from occupation.
It is his own assertive political realism and rationality, always on the basis of national unity and unanimity, which must determine our actions regardless of our political or party affiliation.
Justifying his own expectations and unremitting efforts for the survival of Hellenism in this land and the withdrawal of the occupying troops from our homeland, I would like once again to assure you of my common and determined will, shared with the visions of Glafkos Clerides, my political mentor.
The will and determination to continue to work tirelessly until the end of my term of office to find a solution that respects the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus, the security of the Hellenic Cypriots, that does not ignore the concerns of the Turkish Cypriots, but that ensures a truly European country.
As a matter of fact, Glafkos Clerides served Cyprus with genuine, selfless love and dedication, consciously seeking as a politician to be useful and not unpopular.
I would like to particularly congratulate the sculptor Filippos Yapanis, who through the symbols he chose to depict in the sculpture, succeeded in vividly conveying the love that distinguished Glafkos Clerides for his homeland, the land, the sea and its people, which was the guiding principle of his own journey.
I also congratulate, once again, those who took the initiative to place the sculpture in the park of the same name, which will remind everyone, as a beacon of our own path, of the example of Glafkos Clerides as a pure and noble politician, as a man committed to high ideals, principles and values.
(PM/EC)
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