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- Ελληνικά
Through the darkness of war, destruction and suffering, through the difficult atrophies that our people are called upon to cross from the very first moment of their existence, we always draw strength from our compatriots who stood up before the invader, before danger, before death. They raised the stature of man, which is always and only measured by the measure of freedom.
Our history, the history of our homeland has never been simple, it has never been easy. Our existence has always been threatened, but we have had the privilege as a people to pride ourselves, rightly, that we belong to the "Cyprus of heroes". The land that gives birth to heroes, people who will stand up against any invader, to defend freedom, to defend the homeland.
Here today we honour these people, our historical ambassadors.
We honour these men of daily toil, of compassion for their fellow man, of philanthropy, who, when history demanded it, without any hesitation whatsoever, left behind everything they had and sacrificed themselves to protect our freedom, to protect our homeland.
We honour the heavy blood tax that the communities of Filias and Masari were called upon to pay, as their own share of contribution to the struggle for the survival of our homeland.
I feel honoured to participate in today's event, I would like to thank the Presidents of the two communities for the honourable invitation, so that together we can pay the minimum tribute to the inhabitants of the communities of Filias and Masari, who offered the most sacred good, their own lives, for the homeland, for freedom.
And I could not fail to congratulate the Community Councils of Filias and Masari for the joint decision and implementation of the erection of the Memorial to the Fallen and Missing, whose unveiling we are celebrating today. As I would also like to express my sincere thanks - and I am particularly honoured by you as a community - for the kind concession of the site for the erection of the monument
I therefore congratulate everyone for the initiative and implementation of the project, as well as the artists who created the Monument.
The wounds of the Turkish invasion and the ongoing occupation have remained open for 49 years. We live and experience them every day, even here a few metres away.
Our refugees, our missing and our imprisoned are a stark reminder of the historical debt we all owe for the vindication and liberation of our homeland. It is this debt that resonates throughout our history, from the heroism and sacrifice of all those we honour today.
Faithful to the legacies of our heroes, we will not compromise with the occupation, we will not retreat and we will not stop, despite any difficulties, problems, disappointments, to fight until the blessed day of liberation and the reunification of our people and our homeland, so that we can offer, at least to the future generations of our country, what they deserve, a free homeland, a homeland that is a member state of the European Union, without guarantees and foreign interventionist powers. A homeland that will itself be the guarantor of peace and progress.
In this context, my, or our if you like, Monument to our heroes has been from the first moment, and will continue to be, our unreserved commitment to the struggle to justify their sacrifice. For only in this way will their sacrifice be truly vindicated. We honour their memory, we continue their work for the liberation and reunification of our homeland.
(PM/AF)
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Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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