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- Ελληνικά
For his supreme, selfless contribution to the homeland, today we reverently celebrate the second annual memorial service of the hero of the Community of Agia Marina Chrysochous, Andreas Polykarpou, giving him wreaths of gratitude and asserting that the struggle will not cease until his vindication for the fulfillment of our national goals.
Andreas Polykarpou was born on 1 August 1939 in Agia Marina Chrysochous. In 1958, after graduating from the American Academy, he studied at Pitman's College in London. On 27 January 1964 he enlisted in the Police Force at the age of 25 and served in the Tactical Reserve Unit (TEM) at the Stavros Famagusta Police Station.
On 19 May 1964 he was on leave of absence and visited his beloved village of Agia Marina Chrysochous. The next day he departed, to report for duty at the Station where he was serving.
He never, however, gave his "present". Nor did he turn up the next day, 21 May 1964, at the BMH, in Aglantzia, for training, as expected.
According to reports, he was last seen travelling in Nicosia in his car, near Olympic Nicosia near the Turkish Cypriot enclave.
And from then on Andreas was missing...he was included in the brutal list of missing persons and his family's golgotha began. Andrew's mother, father, and brother passed away with the grief and anguish of finding out his fate. They left in the hope that they would all meet again one day, as they once had. In the tragedy experienced by Andrew's family, there was no "catharsis". Andrea's parents left this world in anguish and ignorance.
It took fifty-eight years to write the tragic epilogue to Andrea's drama, when his remains were found in a mass grave in the area of the Turkish Cypriot village of Hamit Madres and identified by DNA. The State, the Church and the Cyprus Police said a fitting farewell to Andreas Polykarpou two years ago, in June 2022, in the community that gave birth to him.
With the discovery of his remains, the manly lad with an excellent character, who fell in defence of democracy and legality, enters the pantheon of heroes of bloody Cypriot history. In his short period of service, he established himself in the collective memory as an excellent and worthy member of the Police Corps.
Andrew was distinguished for his dedication to duty, impeccable professionalism, respect and tireless service to the citizen, constant efforts to fight crime, as well as corruption. His absence has left an unfulfilling void in his family.
For decades his family members have been trying unsuccessfully to gather information to determine his fate.
It is for this reason that today is not a day for either lofty proclamations or ponderous rhetoric. We are here today, humble pilgrims, to honour the memory and sacrifice of the Hero Andrew, but also to reflect on our responsibilities and our duty.
But today is also a poignant reminder of the ongoing drama experienced by the families of our missing persons.
Today, of the 1,510 Greek Cypriots missing, 758 remain missing. Their families are stoically waiting and hoping. For these families, time does not heal. Only answers. The answers to the fate of their loved ones are anxiously seeking the conclusion to the tragedy they have experienced for almost half a century.
A slow, difficult, agonizing calvary that does not culminate in redemption but at least in answers.
The word "missing person" has entered our vocabulary and haunts us. It has been etched by the black events, carved indelibly in the historical memory of our people, but even more so in the families of the missing persons. A tragic word, the meaning of which ancient Greek tragedy struggles to grasp.
Rooted in our consciousness, this word contains lamentation and heartbreak, synapsing our minds to recall images of black-clad mothers, wives, young children holding photographs with anguish painted on their distraught, saddened looks. Families like Andrew's, leaving life with a wound open and bleeding, never feeling even the cold relief of truth.
Our poet Michalis Pasiardis sums up the drama, the anguish, the brutality experienced by the families of our missing persons with the following lines.
Today, today to come
Today to be together.
Otherwise we have no Christmas
We have no hope
We have no star
We have no joy
We have no comfort - beloved
Friends, brothers and sisters.
On this day
We are waiting for you. To be together.
These are the words, I can assume, that Andrew's mother, father and brother repeated daily, waiting for Andrew to be together...
The passage of time makes it more difficult to solve this humanitarian problem, contributing to its worsening. The responsibility for creating the problem and perpetuating it lies with Turkey, which continues to refuse to cooperate sincerely in establishing the fate of our missing persons. It flagrantly disregards the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as other international organizations.
As a State, we call for an end to this unacceptable situation. We expect the United Nations, the European Union, and world powers to end the drama and suffering of the relatives of the missing persons. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3450 of 1975 underlines the basic human need for families to be informed about their missing relatives.
Decades of agony are unbearably unbearable. That is why we pledge not to give up the sacred struggle until the fate of the last missing person is known. The determination of the fate of the last missing person is a top priority both for the Government and for the President of the Republic himself.
Half a century of occupation of European territory with the citizens of this country being deprived of basic human rights, for 50 years. The present state of affairs cannot be the future of our country, it cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem. It is precisely for this reason that from the very first moment we have been working for the resumption of substantive talks from the point where they have been interrupted.
Substantive talks that will lead to the resolution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework, on the basis of the principles and values of the European Union.
The tragic aspects of the invasion and the consequences of the ongoing occupation are evident every day. Time may be passing, but our anguish is not diminishing. It is moments such as today's that should charge us mentally, inspire us nationally, to intensify our efforts, to continue the struggle for the reunification of our martyred homeland.
With sincerity and sobriety, let us reflect on our debt to our glorious heroes and to future generations.
By turning the pages of our history, let us also look to the future. To learn lessons, to recall memories, to understand the importance of our mission. Somewhere I read that "every man, every people, becomes worthy of his historical mission as his consciousness of his history deepens."
The greatness of a nation's civilization, after all, is always proportional to the purity and depth of its historical memory.
The purity of this historical memory preserves indelible the wounds inflicted by discord, division and civil conflict. It is our duty, therefore, to make historical memory an experience, the need for history to meet the historicity of need, the imperative for unity to be transformed into redemption.
Inspired by the heroic sacrifice of our heroes and all those who laid down their lives on the altar of Cypriot freedom, but also those who fought for our homeland, let us consolidate the invincible front of unity.
All together to look at history, the nation, the struggles and the fighters with our heads held high.
Let our sense of duty and historical responsibility, especially towards the new generations, for a reunited homeland guide us in every step we take.
To paraphrase the words of Palamas:
"We owe a debt to those who have come, passed,
will come, will pass."
Honored hero Andreas Polycarpou, Constable 1827,
We draw strength from the greatness of your self-sacrifice, which underlines the urgent need for unity and vigilance. In the troubled times our country is going through, may your sacrifice be a guiding compass for all of us, pointing the way to duty, dignity and honour.
As the Government, we pledge to exert every bit of our strength for the reunification of the island, so that your sacrifice may not go unpunished.
Your memory will be eternal, just as our struggle will be unceasing until the final vindication, the justification of your sacrifice. Eternal may be your luminous memory.
(PM/NZ/EP)
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