-
.
- Ελληνικά
You said it was an honour to be here tonight. It is exactly the opposite that is the case, it is the highest honour for me to receive your invitation to the President of the Republic, because the existence of the Republic of Cyprus today is due to your struggles. So, the honour is ours, I am sure that I also express His Beatitude.
The heavy duty of conscience led us today to this historic place, to Resistance Square, to condemn the twin crime committed against our homeland and to honour those who defended the legitimacy, territorial integrity and independence of the Republic of Cyprus, which is the most important thing we have to date.
The piercing sound of the sirens, which was heard this morning and will be heard next Saturday, is like a stab in our hearts and in our memory. The pain, the shame, the despair, the images of destruction are circling in our minds like thousands of bees around the carcass of Onesilos. And inevitably the memories come back to life even more intensely every summer, on days like this.
Fifty years after the catastrophe, we are gathered here to pay the appropriate tribute. I confess that I am particularly moved, because this part of heroic Paphos, very familiar to me, is identified with dramatic events that took place in those crucial hours, when the clouds of treachery gathered dangerously over our country, showing - for I cannot accept that no one knew what would follow - and the destruction that would follow.
As is known to all, Paphos was the hospitable place that offered safety and protection to the Archbishop, President Makarios, in the first hours immediately after the foolish and treasonous coup of July 15, 1974.
The people of Cyprus as a whole, but especially in Paphos, reacted with lightning speed to the illegal plans of the coup plotters and raised a shield of protection around the legally elected leader of the country. Moreover, it was thanks to the courageous contributors of the Free Radio Station of Paphos that the historic message of President Makarios was broadcast to the whole world.
Allow me to announce that as a State we will undertake, in the specific place where the message of Archbishop Makarios was broadcast, that the State will finance the conversion of the place into a museum, so that the new generations will know about it.
In those tragic hours, heroic Paphos became the centre of the struggle against the coup, refuting the lies of the coup plotters that Makarios was dead. Unfortunately, however, the betrayal was so great, the struggle was so unequal, that the scales were inevitably tipped against the resistance.
I see tonight that among us are many of the fighters, many relatives of fighters who were on the front line of the resistance. I salute them all, one by one, and bow on behalf of the State with respect and appreciation. You are living history. We owe you much and we are grateful to you!
No excuse whatsoever can alibi the untrue and naive arguments of the Athens Junta and its collaborators here, whose actions were exploited to the full by Turkey and invaded our country, achieving a timeless goal that everyone knew it had.
The fiftieth anniversary of the black anniversaries of the treasonous coup and the barbaric Turkish invasion is an occasion for collective reflection, for drawing lessons, for reaffirming principles, values and positions in relation to the management of the ongoing occupation of a large part of the territory of an independent state, the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the United Nations and the European Union.
The consequences of the Turkish invasion are many and have continued for half a century and therefore the responsibilities of those who committed the invasion and maintained the occupation, and of all those who allow the continuation of the division of Cyprus by force, are incalculable. They constitute a flagrant violation of international and European law, the Charter of the United Nations, the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and an unquestionable violation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all Cypriots, who are obliged to live in their own country deprived of basic human rights. A reality that makes it imperative to end the present unacceptable status quo and restore basic freedoms and human rights to all, without exception, the legal inhabitants of this land. And it is on this historical reality and need that the great effort we are making to remove the consequences of the Turkish invasion is based.
From this historic space, I want to assure you that, despite the difficulties and problems, the challenges, the frustrations and the occasional threats, we will continue our efforts to create the conditions that will allow us to seek a solution to the Cyprus problem under the auspices of the United Nations. Undoubtedly, and I know very well the feelings of the Cypriot people, the negative attitude of the Turkish side worries us and makes it difficult for us, but it does not discourage us, because we know very well our destination, we have faith in the value of our arguments, we have the necessary confidence that we can, yes, after all, we owe it to ourselves, bring better days to this land.
With assertive realism, determination, perseverance, without introspection, without defeatism, without regret, which would be the easiest thing to do, we continue the great effort, using every tool at our disposal in an ever-changing international reality that we are experiencing.
The only path, and it is the one I have consistently followed and will continue to follow, is the path of cooperation and peace, the path of continuing every effort to break the deadlock and resume the talks as soon as possible. The message sent to us tonight by Mr Theodorou, taking into account his history, is the path of unity, because without unity nothing but nothing can be avoided.
What we seek is liberation and a solution that will truly reunite our country and our people in conditions of democracy, security, equal rights and opportunities for all its legitimate inhabitants.
Fifty years later, half a century later, the path for us has only one direction. With the necessary political will and in full consultation with the Greek Government, we continue to aim for the much-needed reunification.
There is no other option for us but to end the occupation and reunite our homeland. We must rid ourselves of the occupation and division that are eroding the strengths and potential of our homeland to make full use of all that it can achieve for further progress and prosperity, and this situation that nullifies the vision of a united, shared prosperous homeland. The only way forward is the intensification of our efforts, the correct reading of international developments, the understanding of the geostrategic balances, the further armouring, strengthening and upgrading of the international standing of the Republic of Cyprus through the strengthening of all the power factors of our state and the promotion of its role, not with words but with deeds, as a pillar of security and stability in the region.
In 1974 the Republic of Cyprus suffered a double rape that traumatised, divided and broke it. In these 50 years, however, and to the disappointment of some, our Cypriot people did not compromise, did not give up and did not forget.
With self-confidence, authority, credibility and dignity we are working for the multi-layered armouring of our homeland, political, economic, defence and social, so that through the liberation and reunification of our country we can hand over to our children a free and secure homeland.
This is my promise, this is my vision for this country.
This is my promise, this is my vision for this country. We owe it to the fallen, the missing, the refugees and the victims, to all of you who resisted in 1974, so that the Republic of Cyprus could exist today.
(RM/MS/AF)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
