The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Takis Hadjidemetriou, was awarded the Medal of Outstanding Contribution of the Republic of Cyprus by the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades.
Speaking at the ceremony, the President of the Republic said that "as a minimum sign of recognition and appreciation of the multifaceted action and long-standing contribution of Mr. Takis Hadjidemitriou to his country, as well as his great contribution to the preservation and promotion of our cultural heritage, the State today awards him the Medal of Outstanding Contribution of the Republic of Cyprus.
This is a just honour to a consistent politician, a selfless citizen of this country, a Cypriot who fights for a country without barbed wire, a country in which we will build bridges of understanding and mutual understanding.
Distinguished by deep and genuine philanthropy, Mr. Hadjidemetriou has worked with absolute consistency and dedication from the positions in which he has been called upon to serve his country from time to time.
In his more than 70 years of presence in the political arena, he has not only lived through important events in the modern history of Cyprus, but has been part of them.
Always setting as a guide for his own path the achievement of what was beneficial for the country and the people, a path that was interwoven with the visions and aspirations of Cypriot Hellenism and beyond.
I had the honour to work closely with Mr.
It is this cooperation and our common struggle that gives me the right of personal testimony, in addition to what history has recorded about his actions, and he himself in his rich and remarkable writings.
A testimony that cannot but confess that Takis Hadjidemetriou, having a free and prosperous homeland as his guiding principle, was a pioneer in the efforts to find a just and viable solution to the Cyprus issue, as well as the proper promotion of the demands and struggle of the Cypriot people abroad.
At the same time, as an active citizen, he left his indelible mark on the political, social and medical events of the country.
Above all, Mr. Hadjidemetriou, who has always been distinguished by a special love and sensitivity for the importance of culture in recording the history of a people, has shown consistency in his constant concern and special interest in the preservation and promotion of culture.
For Takis Hadjidemitriou, different cultural backgrounds, different religions and national origins do not constitute points of friction, but mosaics of wealth for our history and our country.
This love and sensitivity motivated him to develop a rich activity and to closely associate his name with the preservation of our cultural heritage, especially with his appointment as Head of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, immediately after its establishment in 2008, always under the auspices of the United Nations.
Recognizing that cultural heritage, being at the same time past and present, constitutes the identity and history of our country, the link with our roots and at the same time the property of all humanity, being fully aware of the important role of the Committee, he worked tirelessly and effectively, sparing no effort and personal time, towards the accomplishment of its demanding mission.
In this direction, investing as a powerful tool in peaceful cooperation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, with the support of the European Union and the United Nations, he demonstrated, together with his colleagues, patience, perseverance and faith, promoting respect for all cultural and religious monuments in our land.
In his effort or vision more correctly, and despite any obstacles and difficulties, through the uninterrupted, peacemaking activities of the volunteer experts who make up the Commission, the joint restoration and rehabilitation of more than 90 cultural heritage monuments in the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and in our occupied homeland was achieved.
Monuments such as, among others, the archaeological site of Salamina, the Venetian Walls of Famagusta and Nicosia, the monastery of Apostle Andrew, the Churches of Archangel Michael in Yialousa and Lefkoniko, as well as dozens of others, not to mention the churches of the Muslim community, I mean our fellow Turkish Cypriots.
Monuments, cultural heritage that go beyond the narrow boundaries of the Orthodox and Ottoman but cover those of the Latin, Armenian and Maronite Church and cultural heritage.
Because, as I mentioned before, the aim of the Commission is to preserve our cultural heritage as an element of our common past, in such a way as to promote by example the necessary mutual respect between us in order to build a common future.
In recognition of the Commission's significant contribution and his personal action, our dear, beloved Takis Hadjidemetriou received, together with his counterpart Ali Tunsai, the 2015 European Citizenship Award.
The crowning and highest reward is the top award he received at the European Heritage Summit, in the category of Contribution to Cultural Heritage, held last September in Venice. Hatzidimitriou,
as you yourself have stated in the past: "Culture and mutual respect for what is common and different between us constitutes the most solid basis on which we can build our common future."
Your dedicated effort as Head of the Greek Cypriot side of the Bicommunal Technical Committee, contributing decisively both to the preservation of the cultural heritage of our homeland and to the creation of a climate of trust and understanding between the two communities, gives a message of hope in all directions.
At the same time, it shows the way for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to work together in order to achieve the goal of reunifying our homeland and ensuring a promising and creative future for future generations.
Dear Mr. Hadjidemetriou, honoring you today as an expression of due respect and gratitude of the entire Cypriot people and yourself personally, I want you to know that the continuation of the important work of the Commission is our priority and main concern.
Their work will be a valuable legacy for new generations, for those who recognise the value of history and culture as the solid foundation of an honest relationship between the different citizens of our country. A healthy society and the building of a model country, as you have always dreamed of, my friend Takis Hadjidemetriou. I believe it is the least of the gratitude we owe you."
For his part, Mr. Hadjidemetriou said that "thank you for the great honour and for your generous words."
The award is recognition of the efforts of the Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage (TC), which for fourteen years now has been working for the preservation of the monuments of Cyprus. Victims of the tragic 1974, like the place and its people.
The love of our people for their monuments is the support, inspiration and strength of the work of the TC. Monuments seek their people and people seek their monuments. And between the cracks and the middle walls nestles the soul of Cyprus.
You have entrusted us, Mr. President, with a great responsibility, that of saving the works of culture bequeathed to us by the centuries. We worked collectively together with the Advisory Council and with many others, services and technicians. We worked with our Turkish Cypriot colleagues and especially with my counterpart, Ali Tuncai. We worked together with sincerity and mutual trust to protect our common cultural heritage.
The support of the EU, UNDP and the United Nations has been invaluable. This too is proof that the concept of culture is local, national and universal.
We stood before the monuments with respect. We did not evaluate them ourselves. It is the monuments that evaluate us and judge us. They have the experience of centuries, they have known many people and gone through many trials, but they look at the present with wonder, if not with reproach.
I belong, Mr. President, to the generation that lived through everything. The great visions, the great sacrifices and the expectation of national integration. We grasped the hope of a new presence of Hellenism in the region and the world with Cyprus playing a prominent role.
As members of the Technical Committee we found ourselves walking in the ruins and loneliness of the monuments. We saw the cities and temples in tatters. We saw the tombs, the sacred dwellings of the dead, destroyed.
We felt the great disrespect. That which made Poseidon leave Troy sadly, and Athena rush out of Troy in anger at the destruction. "Ye are altars and gods." Poseidon with the Trojans and Athena with the Danaans. But they agree on one thing, they tell us in the Trojan Women: to punish disrespect.
The aim of the Technical Committee in the circumstances we are going through is to salvage what is salvaged and the interconnection of the monuments to emphasise the unity of the place. Each monument with its own history and all together express the true and total history of Cyprus. The work carried out is linked to the past centuries, concerns the present and looks forward to the future centuries.
Cultural heritage is the monuments, but also the people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins. Inextricably linked to the struggle to save the monuments is the struggle to save the people, who are the source of culture. The threat is real. A tragic struggle with calamities, but also with perseverance. Survival is the glory of history and of life itself.
Every monument that is preserved is a small light that overcomes the darkness of the tragedy of the place and sows hope for tomorrow's peaceful and multicultural Cyprus.
Mr. President,
the award reaches out and includes all our colleagues, all our collaborators and is an encouragement for the continuation of our work.
Above all, it is a mandate to save Cyprus as the highest cultural value.
Thank you for the honour."
PM/EX/IK
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