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It is with great emotion that I stand in the Church of Panagia Chryseleousis to deliver the commemorative speech on behalf of the Government, at today's national and religious memorial service of Private Charalambos Charalambous from Xylofagou, who was sacrificed 35 years ago in the land of our Akritikos Municipality.
With feelings of national pride and gratitude, we pay today the due honor to the only twenty-year-old lad, the national guard of our country, who was fated to be murdered cowardly by a Turkish soldier on May 28, 1988, while he was on military service.
Charalambos Charalambous, the worthy child of the heroine Xylofagos, was born on October 23, 1967. He was the eldest son of the large family of Tasos and Panagiota, brother of Flora, Andreas, Demeter, and later Charalambos, who received the honorary name of his deceased brother.
A gifted young man, distinguished for his kindness, benevolence and willingness, qualities which endeared him to relatives and friends.
On these virtues I would like to dwell, with which Charalambos' parents brought up the whole family. With the ideals and values of the nation, mutual understanding and social solidarity. It was no coincidence, moreover, that their child's action at the critical time when he was called upon to respond.
His parents Tasos and Panagiota passed on to their children a valuable spirit and a consciousness that shapes their identity and behaviour. This is the heritage that reveals to children the history, cultural heritage and traditions of the nation, highlighting the value of identity and attachment to their roots.
Through these ideals and values, Charalambos was able to develop a deeper respect for his homeland. He valued the diversity of people and cultures in society, as well as the importance of cooperation and unity to achieve common goals. He also developed a sense of responsibility towards his fellow man and cultivated from an early age a desire to contribute positively to any improvement.
From these values of society, he developed a solid social conscience and had the ability to cooperate and understand the importance of justice, empathy and respect for others.
With this legacy, Charalambos also gained a valuable gift. He learned to be optimistic and to face challenges with enthusiasm and determination. His enthusiasm fueled his belief in himself and his expectation that he could succeed. His spirit encouraged curiosity to explore further, fostering the development of new ideas and understanding of the world around him.
Indeed, he developed critical thinking and learned to examine his own and others' choices and to consider how his own thoughts and decisions could positively affect the common good.
His enlistment in the National Guard in July 1987, immediately after his seven years of study at the American Academy in Larnaca, where he graduated with honors, with the maturity he gained from what his parents imparted to him, made him a fully qualified citizen, ready to go out into the world. How could a promising career and a bright future not be foreseen with all these legacies?
He enlisted in the National Guard and after his military training in the 291st Infantry Battalion, he was assigned to the outpost east of Athens.
On the morning of Saturday 28 May 1988, a Turkish soldier in full military uniform entered the house of Kyriakos and Kristalos Lysandrou, inexplicably and without reason, and took the couple and their then two-year-old girl hostage.
One understands how to wake up and be taken hostage in this inexplicable way.
One understands how to wake up and be taken hostage in this inexplicable way. Shock at the presence of a man they neither knew who he was nor what he was asking for. They tried in vain to decode his actions and the anguish for the child in his own room peaked with no way to get their hands on him.
At some point, the Turkish soldier was disoriented by a noise he heard at the back of the house, so that in a flash they managed to escape through the main entrance of the house, calling frightened for help.
It was around 7 in the morning. Haralambos, who was at that time on duty at the "Oxus" outpost, in an effort to assist in the call of the family in distress, immediately applied himself, braving the danger that lurked.
Faced with the threat that the armed Turkish soldier sensed, he exited the house and began firing indiscriminately in successive bursts. Charalambos was mortally wounded by the gunfire, while his fellow soldier, Private Yannis Kallesis, who was with other soldiers at the outpost, was seriously wounded.
The gunman returned to the house, grabbed the child and reappeared at the main entrance holding the hostage, wanting to show that they could not hurt him.
Again, however, he heard a noise at the back of the house. At that moment, as he headed towards the kitchen to see what was happening, the child's grandmother and mother called out to him and he ran into his mother's arms. The armed Turkish soldier started firing again, this time towards the grandmother.
The Turkish soldier closed the front door and barricaded himself in the house for several hours. From time to time sporadic gunfire could be heard inside the house. As the hour progressed, United Nations, police, the Mechanized Rapid Response Unit (MRU) and the National Guard rushed to the scene. An interpreter was even called in, who repeatedly called on him to surrender, but without any response.
Meanwhile, Charalambos and his companion John were taken to the hospital.
After several hours of fruitless attempts to persuade the Turkish soldier to surrender, he was neutralized around noon after the intervention of the PMAD, in an operation that ranks among the Force's most important to date.
Fellow countrymen and women,
The pain and sorrow for the deceased National Guardsman remain forever deeply engraved in the hearts of all of us, since, in a matter of minutes, that calm morning of May 28, 1988, turned into the bloody Saturday of Athienou.
Two communities were plunged into mourning and untold pain, while the cowardly murder of the unfortunate Charalambos shocked the whole of Cyprus and Hellenism everywhere. The headlines on the front pages of the newspapers were typical: "Lead and death scattered again yesterday morning by Attila", "Turks torpedo peace", "Blood and shock in Athienou."
No matter how many years pass, the events still shock us in exactly the same way as they did then. Every day, the Lysandros couple opens the front door of their home and remembers those events that turned the lives of many people upside down.
A young child of our country was to be lost so unjustly and prematurely. The then 20-year-old Charalambos, who with courage and selflessness, performed his duty to the full, without any hesitation, put the interests of his country above his own life.
Today, with humility and respect, we pay tribute to Charalambos Charalambous, who at such a young age passed through the door of immortality. With reverence and admiration we bow to the greatness of his sacrifice. A sacrifice that is for all of us a shining example of manliness and valor.
With his unwavering faith in the values and ideals that shaped Hellenism everywhere, Charalambos, demonstrating great manliness, showed us the way. With his shining example, he reminded us that we must walk with ethics, selflessness and a high sense of duty, values that must guide us in everything we do, both great and small.
Charalambos' unparalleled self-sacrifice is a legacy that we must live up to. Fully aware of our debt to him, to all those who sacrificed themselves in this long-suffering land, we must continue to fight and bravely defend the rights of our people.
Drawing strength from the fortitude, daring and inexhaustible courage of the hero we commemorate today, we continue tirelessly in our difficult struggle for national vindication, for an end to the Turkish occupation and the reunification of our homeland.
Dear friends
The loss of a man always causes shock and unspeakable grief for his family, friends and community.
"Honor to those who in their lives have created and guarded Thermopylae. Never moved by debt."
Athienou feels that Pambos is its own hero, which is also represented by the monument erected in his honour in Athienou. A monument that is a seal of our eternal appreciation for his sacrifice.
The memory of Charalambos Charalambous will remain alive in our hearts and thoughts. It is important to remember his sacrifice and keep his legacy alive. In this way, we can hope to strengthen solidarity among us.
The monument erected by the Municipality of Athens in his honour, where a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony will be held shortly, is an important part of our history. A monument modest as befits the life of the unfortunate Charalambos. A symbol of courage and morality, a source of inspiration and an invitation to remember and acknowledge the past.
A monument from which we draw lessons as it serves as a means of expression and reference to these historical events and helps new generations to develop a fuller and deeper understanding of the past and the society in which they live.
For Athienou, whose soil Charalambos watered with his blood, here on the ceasefire line, on our own "Thermopylae", will always feel him as one of its own children and will always pay him the due honours due to the worthy children of our land, our immortal heroes.
At the easternmost point of Athienou, where the monument is located, at the point where the sad events of the morning of 28 May 1988 took place, it will forever remind us of the meaning of duty and obligation. We bow down with the first rays of the sun that face the altar of the altar every morning.
Dear Charalabe, we are here again today to honour you as the hero who had the courage to run to the call to defend your country and your fellow human beings in the line of duty. You will forever be the model of virtue and dignity that will inspire and guide us.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the outskirts of Athens, one cannot help but feel the imprint and vivid sense of the occupation and division of our homeland. Let the example of the young soldier be a beacon of light that will keep the flame of philanthropy and militancy burning and will forever remind us of the meaning of duty and obligation.
The offer of soldier Charalambos Charalambous, sealed by his tragic death as a contract of honour with his homeland, will remain as a sacred legacy for all of us.
Honour and glory to the heroes who gave their lives for freedom and democracy. Glory and honor to the brave hero Charalambos Charalambous. He will always be here, in our hearts and memories, and will be a beacon of hope and militancy for all.
Eternal be his memory.
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PM/II/SX
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