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- Ελληνικά
It is with great pleasure that I participate in today's event to celebrate the inauguration of the Municipal Library of the bordering Municipality of Deryneia, which bears the name "Adam Adam Adamos".
Adam Adam Adamantos, - as a historian I have studied his activities - a historical, political personality with a multi-level activity in our country, is one of the finest children of Dherynia in modern history. A great philologist and one of the best orators of our country. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Athens and taught Greek at the Greek Gymnasium of Famagusta and at the Teachers College, in Morphou and in Nicosia. One of the most important and educated politicians of the last decades of British rule, he was a founding member of the AKEL in April 1941 and elected Mayor of Famagusta from 1943 to 1953, winning three consecutive elections. He pioneered political, social and national demands in the difficult 1940s, was a member of the 'People's Embassy' in 1950 which promoted the results of the unionist referendum abroad and did not hesitate to disagree with his party's official line, paying a cost for it. His untimely death, at the age of 55, found him on the bench while he was teaching and deprived Cyprus of an independent and unattached voice, who did not count any disciplines in the face of interest, in what he considered to be the interest of the country he always supported with courage.
And, yes, we can say with certainty that had he been alive today, in the early years of Independence and afterwards, he would have been one of the protagonists of the political life of our country. But the most important thing is not to say good things about you or praise your actions when you are alive. The most important thing is what is happening tonight, what the Mayor said, what the poets aptly said through our popular tradition about his action, the recognition of what he has contributed to our country.
The project we are inaugurating tonight - and I think the decision of the Mayor and the Municipal Council to name the Library after Adamos Adamantos - which bears the name of an enlightened man, is the renovation of an old building, located in the core of the Municipality of Deryneia, which has been transformed, transformed into a modern multi-place of study and cultural events.
In fact, in the immediate future, the space will be transformed into a modern building in terms of technological equipment - and it is here that the state will come to the rescue to support this effort - which can be used by organized groups for seminars, lectures, presentations, but also as a place of study and work. And as I have been informed by the Mayor, it is already being used for City Council meetings.
The project aims, among many other things, to spur growth in the area and create suitable conditions for residents of the surrounding area. It provides infrastructure for research, intellectual culture, upgrading the quality of life in an area that is growing in some conditions, we have to admit, that are not the most ideal, not so favorable. On the one hand there is the occupation and the city of Famagusta which stigmatizes Dheryneia, stigmatizes the wider region, the city where we lost our properties as the Mayor said.We have lost nothing and we are here to do everything possible to reunite our land and this is not a slogan. This year marks 50 years since the brutal Turkish invasion, 50 years of occupation and we cannot afford to turn away from this effort to reunite our land.
And as someone who was born during the invasion, my first contact with the closed city of Famagusta was in 1985 when I visited Deryneia for the first time. I remember very distinctly in 1985, at the age of 11, I had visited Deryneia to see my brother who was serving in the 611th Infantry Battalion here in Deryneia, from Paphos where we had come to see him, and it was my first contact with the enclosed city of Famagusta, with the occupation. And I want to reiterate on the occasion of this new effort that is tentatively starting, that we all have an obligation to do everything possible to reunite our country and this will be the best memorial for all those who have contributed to our country, like Adam Adam Adamantos.
The project we are inaugurating tonight will also upgrade the services provided to the entire population of the municipality and the wider region, create new jobs and raise the level of education of the wider population. And it is important because it targets all age groups in different ways, and will address their needs by hosting activities according to the requirements of the population group it aims to serve.
As a result of the implementation of the Local Development Strategy, the refurbishment of the building we are in tonight through the Operational Programme "Sea 2014-2020", refolds the wealth of opportunities offered to us through the use of innovative facilities and surroundings, thus filling or filling a major gap in the Municipality and the wider area.
In addition to what I have mentioned above - and I fully agree with the Mayor's intellectual concerns, especially in this era dominated by social media and what they bring with them - it is through these intellectual centres that knowledge is disseminated, which is the springboard for any development. Even economic development should be based on such springboards, as well as social development.
Most importantly, in combination with the other projects that have been rolled out, it works additively to the development path that the Municipality of Deryneia has been on in recent years with the important work done by the Mayor and the Municipal Council. I am very well aware of the requests and for some of them the solution or the development of specific projects has already been rolled out.
On behalf of the State, I express my great satisfaction, since the creation of this library is the result of the special interest shown by the previous government, but also with our contribution, for the implementation of the vision set by the Mayor from the very first moment.
The Mayor reminds me of the restless spirit of Adamantos with his interventions and with what he occasionally writes in the daily press.
In closing, I want to warmly congratulate again my friend the Mayor and the members of the City Council. I record what the Mayor said about the unanimous decision to name the Library. It is something that honours you, both you, Mr. Mayor, and the members of the City Council, and more generally for your continuous and targeted efforts to revitalise the municipality and improve the living standards of the citizens.
I am sure that the Local Authority, in full cooperation with the competent bodies and the services involved, will continue to work for the well-meaning interests of the citizens.
(PM/NYAN/EATH)
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