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It is with feelings of gratitude, respect and pride that I participate and welcome tonight's event. An event that has as its protagonist and its core the Woman of Cyprus, each of whom carries her own history, each of whom is a symbol for our country.
I am particularly moved for many reasons. On the one hand, today's event is organized on the occasion of International Women's Day, a day of celebration and remembrance of the timeless struggles of women to claim their rights. We commemorate the sacrifices and struggles made by women around the world to win the right to vote, to work, to join trade unions, to participate in public life and so many other achievements that are taken for granted today, but were not taken for granted then.
On the other hand, I am particularly moved by the coincidence and the very apt association of this year's tribute to women with the 50th anniversary of the tragic anniversary of the Turkish invasion.
I sincerely congratulate all those who inspired and undertook the organization of tonight's event "Every Woman and a Story - Women Symbols of Cyprus". It is the duty of all of us to honour with reverence the struggles and sacrifices, but also not to forget the suffering and hardships endured by the women of Cyprus, of all ages and all classes, by the barbaric, Turkish invader in 1974.
And I am glad because I recently received a letter that a group of the children of the missing has now been formed and we will surely meet in the very near future. I am glad that so many years later this solidarity, this will to fight exists and I want to assure you, on the occasion of my presence here tonight, that both I personally and Anna (Aristotelous, Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Missing and Internally Displaced Persons) will always be at your side.
We remember what the women of Cyprus suffered from the fury of the Turkish soldiers and what trials the Turkish invasion forced them to go through and, yes, we must not forget, they are still going through today. Our souls tremble and we are shocked before every testimony of violence, pain, hardship, persecution and refugee, the testimony of every girl, young woman, wife, mother, grandmother and sister. We bow to the greatness of their souls and their firm commitment to their duty to their country, family, life and society in general.
We bow to the women in whose honour tonight's event is being organised. To the 15 women whom the organisers have chosen to honour for their struggles, sacrifices, trials and contribution during the brutal Turkish invasion of 1974.
In your person is reflected the figure of our homeland, the Cypriot heroic woman who put her country, her family and her honour above all else and raised her courage, proving her glorious lineage. Thank you and we honour you.
We promise you that, and this is the true sign of recognition of your struggles, we will not limit ourselves to events such as today's, which is particularly important, but through our daily way of life we will stand by you, but also with our strong conviction and our actions for the need to end this unacceptable state of affairs, to end the occupation and to finally reunite our country.
I warmly congratulate the Municipality of Strovolos, the Friendly Mayor and the City Council for the event, as well as of course the Office of the Head of Humanitarian Affairs for Missing and Trapped Persons, Friendly Anna Aristotelous. I want to mention that since her first day in office she has upgraded the operation of the Office. We are proud of your work and the work you are doing.
For us, the Office, which is part of the Presidency, is one of the most essential Services of the Presidency and a key component of our governance and the programme we are implementing. A programme that is often relevant to the work that Anna does because it has people as a key component. In this context, the approach to all issues is "people-centred" and it is precisely around this axis that Anna's Office, as well as her own, revolves, and only around this axis, the human being, his/her value, needs, rights and well-being, the human being victim of the Turkish invasion, every Cypriot citizen.
Before I close, allow me to thank on behalf of the Cypriot State the renowned artist of tonight's evening, Mr. George Dalara, who has been with us since 1974 and whose artistic career has been completely identified with Cyprus and its struggles.
I also thank Diastasis and all those who contributed to tonight's event and of course our very dear actress, Zoe Kyprianou.
(PM/NYAN/MS)
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