As every year, on such days, guided by the light of our historical memory, we return to the highlights of the national anniversaries of 1821 and 1955.
Days like these, we are overcome by intense feelings of awe and emotion, while pride floods the soul and the heart of Hellenism in every corner of the earth.
On March 25, 1821, against the signs of the times and the unfavourable landscape of the time, the fearless Greek chieftains decided to dedicate their blood and soul for the liberation of our proud homeland. A sense of duty and self-denial that in Cyprus we know very well, listing our own sacrifices and losses, paying our own blood tax for these holy lands, but also for the blue and white banner of the nation.
On March 25, 1821, a nation of rayads looks at its conqueror with contempt. An entire nation chooses one hour of freedom despite years of slavery and imprisonment. That great hour had arrived. The Greek revolution explodes!
The Greek nation, although it has not yet won even once on the battlefield, has nevertheless won the war on a field infinitely more difficult: it has held on as an entity in the crucible of nations for four whole centuries of slavery, and this constitutes its first and most glorious victory before the war events have even begun!
Despite the incessant national hemorrhage, hardships and adverse conditions, the Greeks not only maintained the consciousness of their national existence, but gathered within themselves immeasurable moral and spiritual forces, keeping "always open... always vigilant the eyes of their souls".
The soul of the Roms was warmed by the national-liberation sermons of the Greek intellectuals, many of whom signed them with their own blood: King Feraios, Adamantios Korais, Eugenios Voulgaris, but also the enlightened teachings of Saint Cosmas of Aetolo. The revolution of 1821 was a nationwide uprising, a nationwide struggle. From the flowery corsetry to the sun-kissed seas, the nation responded as a whole.
Theodoros Kolokotronis wrote: "When we decided to make the Revolution, the desire for our freedom fell on all of us like rain, and all of us, clergymen, preachers and captains, educated and merchants, young and old, all of us agreed on this goal and made the revolution."
Greeks, Greeks,
The Greek Revolution was not an accidental rebellion established by favorable coincidences. On the contrary, it was an act mocked by the mighty of the earth. The Greek was utterly indifferent to the opinion of the mighty and forced the European nations not only to turn their attention to him, but later to assist in the holy cause as Philhellenes. The Greek asked the impossible beyond all reason, with faith and stubbornness. And the miracle took place: the impossible became possible.
From the flame of March 25th a huge fire was lit from Moldavia to Crete! Its great light illuminates not only the enslaved race of Greeks, but also all the enslaved peoples of that time. The nationalist trumpet 'Freedom or death' resounds from end to end, where 'everything was torn by fear and shattered by slavery'. With the first trumpet they speak the ideals of an entire people that feeds and grows from its historical origins.
The soul of the mythical and Homeric heroes, of the Salamis and Leonidas' warriors, nestles in the soul of the Rajahs. The Byzantine Paleologues and the Acrites awaken and pass the baton to the heroes of the 21st century. The blood of the new martyrs, who water every inch of the Greek land, resurrect martyrs of faith and homeland. Agia Lavra gives the motto and the banner of the Revolution. It quickly covers the entire Peloponnese, the Eastern Sterea and the islands of Greece. Everywhere the chosen people of the race, ordinary and everyday people, who manage to embody the ideals of the race to the highest degree, writing pages of glorious glory, give their presence. The Maniats, the Souliotes and the Sfakians, the worthy ones who kept their nests unsullied. The faith in the ideals of life is demonstrated by the free besieged of Messolonghi.
134 years later, the Greeks of Cyprus decided to emulate their ancestors and stand up to the mighty British Empire. The portents for the uprising of the Cypriot Hellenism were many. And from the throne of the Archbishopric came the wakeful trumpeting of Makarios. And at the dawn of April 1, 1955, the brave fighters of the E.O.K.A., genuine descendants of the army of the heroes of 1821, took up arms and threw themselves into the struggle for Freedom or Death.
The feeling of injustice, of oppression, the burden of slavery, became a torrent and poured out of the souls of the enslaved Cypriots. Cypriot Hellenism knew well that freedom is not given away, but conquered. They despised the armoured English soldiers, ignored the arrests, humiliations, torture and imprisonment without trials.
Machairas, Dikomo, Hayron, the historic battles in the mountains and on the plains, became worthy of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamina, Gravia and Alamana. The children of Cyprus were led to the gallows, singing and knowing that their sacrifice is a seed that will grow and bear fruit. The fine lads who dawned took them to the gallows, climbed step by step to immortality and entered wholeheartedly into eternity through the door where the great and luminous figures of humanity enter.
Afxentiou, Lenas, Karolis, Matsis, Markos Drakos, Pallicarides, Yiorgallas and all the legends of EOKA practically confirmed that "greatness in nations is not measured by the acre, but by the fire of the heart and the blood". Our Immortal Heroes raised the proud banner of the Revolution and raised their bodies to heavenly heights, proclaiming an oath sacred to the flag of Greek Freedom. The soul of Cyprus was inflamed in the chests of the EOKA lads, who were guided by the ridges of Greek history, the heroes and martyrs of the Tribe, who conquered the Greek ideals with their act of sacrifice. Your immortality is on your hearts. Take the road you have blazed to "enrich" future generations with pride. A legacy of your struggle and sacrifice. A sacrifice that will remain unchanged in time, in the annals of history and in our hearts. As Greeks you proved that greatness in peoples is not measured by the acre. It is measured by the fire of the heart, and by blood.
Greeks, Greeks,
Today, history is repeating itself and despite the steps towards security and peace, our homeland remains divided. This is the bitter truth that one faces every day, gazing at our occupied Kyrenia, Famagusta, Morphou and Apostle Andreas.
Equipped with the desired unity and unanimity, we must continue our struggle to assert our national dignity and the inalienable rights of our people which are brutally violated by the violence and arrogance of the Turkish occupation.
The Republic of Cyprus, as a full member of the European Union, can no longer abstain from the concept of full and non-negotiable sovereignty.
The Republic of Cyprus, as a full member of the European Union, can no longer abstain from the concept of full and non-negotiable sovereignty. Sovereignty that is aligned with international and European law and not with occupation troops and anachronistic third party guarantees.
The President of the Republic is proceeding with numerous and persistent efforts on our side, including the proposed confidence-building measures (CBMs) to re-launch a meaningful negotiation process that will deliver results. However, the claims of both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership for a two-state solution are contrary to the agreed basis for a solution, while unilateral and illegal actions on the territory and at sea are contrary to international law and Security Council resolutions.
It is necessary to move towards a viable and just solution to the Cyprus problem based on mutual respect and conditions that will allow us to live together in peace and co-existence.
Turkey must comply with the indications of international and European law. It must respect the terms of good neighbourliness and abandon its provocative attitude or even its practices of instrumentalising human suffering.
Unfortunately, the nightmare scenario in Ukraine with Russia's invasion of an independent, sovereign country, with the hundreds of victims, the millions of refugees, the destruction of regions, infrastructure and human suffering, recall the Turkish invasion of 1974.
Cyprus, ladies and gentlemen, cannot but oppose, on the basis of its principled positions, any invasion. It cannot remain indifferent to this humanitarian crisis, to the terrible tragedy unfolding before its eyes. It stands practically, with all the resources at its disposal, on the side of the suffering Ukrainian people, hoping that the tragic loss of innocent lives, the violation of sovereignty, human rights and the forcing of the Ukrainian people to take refugee status will immediately come to an end.
Greeks, Greeks,
Today, individual responsibility must be the guide in these critical moments. Fighting spirit, faith in our rights, rallying, unity, putting aside passions and pettiness, and demanding that the national interest be put above all else, are the conditions that can lead us to much better days for our Cyprus. It must be understood, especially at home, that in these times the preservation of our national unity is our shield and refuge against alienation.
As in those days, our ancestors united, rose up and liberated the homeland. And the following generations rebuilt and grew it. Today, it is our duty to honour the greatness of Hellenism in the far corners of the world, but even more so in our own semi-inhabited homeland.
Today as never before, the sacrifice of Afxentius, Lena, Karoli, Pallikaridis and all the Immortal Hero-Martyrs of the legendary EOKA of Chief Digenis should guide us like a bright star.
Honor and glory to the indefatigable Hellenic soul! Honor and glory to the immortal dead of 1821 and to the heroes of the liberation struggle of 55-59!
(EFys)
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Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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