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The Holy Church of St Demetrios in Moutalo Paphos
The duty of the State to pay due tribute and gratitude to our heroes who died is paramount and unquestionable every year these days.
Today we commemorate the heroes who defended our martyred homeland, watering the native land with their blood, for the sake of Cypriot freedom. The heroes of the occupied community of Potamos of Kampos, Andreas Marneros, Cyprus Antoniou, Christoforos Christoforou, Theotokis Stavrou and Theotokis Orfanou.
29-year-old Andreas Marneros, a policeman by profession, fought on 23 July 1974, in the battle of the airport and fell heroically in an attempt to repel the attack together with his fellow fighters. A symbol of sacrifice and contribution, he was buried in the military cemetery of Makedonitissa. The possibility of escape was non-existent, as Antoniou and his group were surrounded by the enemy throughout the area from Pente Mili to Kyrenia.
The 19-year-old Christoforos Christoforou also served as a commando in those black days. The objective was the capture of the Turkish camp on the Kotzakaya hill. Although, initially, the enemy's surprise attack was a complete success, the commandos found themselves surrounded on all sides. Christopher's fate has been unknown ever since.
Nineteen-year-old intrepid lad was also Theotokis Stavrou of Lambros, whose battalion had been called to go to Panagra. From Panagra to Konteno, Attila was sweeping and smashing everything in his path. In the chaos that prevailed, among the casualties was the stalwart young Theotokis Stavrou.
In the area of Ag. Hilarion, Theotokis Orfanou, with his comrade-in-arms, Iona Andreou, with self-denial covered with their machine gun the retreat of their fellow commandos who, according to testimonies, were left without support.
During the disengagement, Theotokis Orfanou was wounded by machine gun bullets and remained on the ground. The uneven morphology of the terrain, due to the hills, as well as the heavy mortar fire from the Turks made it almost impossible for his comrades-in-arms to make any attempt to approach the spot where Orfanou was wounded. He was identified decades late by DNA and buried with proper honours.
There is no end to the aspects of the Cyprus drama. Lives were lost in the line of duty, women and children perished in the battle with the flames, people deliberately chose to remain in their place in the vain hope that Attila the Hun might show a human face...
The commemoration of our glorious heroes is a reminder of vigilance and a commitment to continue the struggle with determination. We reiterate this determination by condemning the heinous historical events of the black summer of '74.
For it is true, friends, that we have a historical debt to our glorious ancestors, but we also have a perhaps greater debt to our children to throw off the Turkish yoke from our divided homeland. For 49 years, our homeland has been experiencing the barbaric consequences of an illegal invasion and continued occupation. There can therefore be no higher goal for all of us than the redemption of our martyred homeland.
As the President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Christodoulides has declared, our main concern is to work with all our forces to achieve a solution for an independent and truly sovereign state, free from any anachronistic guarantees and the presence of occupying troops. We are working for the end of the occupation, the reunification of our homeland through the achievement of a peaceful solution to the Cyprus problem.
As a Government, we assure you that our highest goal is none other than the reunification of Cyprus. We remain firmly committed to a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem based on the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions to achieve a just, viable and lasting solution on the basis of a bicommunal, bizonal federation with one sovereignty, one citizenship, one international personality and political equality.
Finding a viable solution to the Cyprus problem remains a top priority for the Nicos Christodoulides Government and we will make every effort to break the deadlock and resume negotiations. The European Union can play a decisive and leading role in the efforts to resume the talks and provide effective assistance to the talks under the auspices of the United Nations.
The initiative undertaken by the President of the Republic through a major diplomatic effort aims to break the deadlock and immediately resume negotiations with a view to a final settlement of the Cyprus problem. Our European partners and the international community recognise our sincere will and constructive willingness to reunite our country, the only divided member state of the European Union.
The tragedy of the moment exceeds the narrow limits of time and space. Our physical presence today in the Church of St. Demetrios in Muttalo is synchronized with our mental and spiritual presence in the churches of St. Andrew the Apostle and St. Kournouta in the river of Kampos. These holy churches may have been demolished after the Turkish invasion, but their memories and longing preserve them and today, in this interlude of mourning, pain and memory, their bells ring mournfully in our souls. Sounds of awakening and reminder of our desire to return, but also of our debt to our homeland.
We have a duty never to forget. To keep the memory unquenched. We owe it to the dead, to the families who are waiting patiently for the fate of their loved ones to be determined, to those who experienced captivity, desecration, the brutality of rape and torture.
The heavy legacy we honour today dictates our duty. To fight unwaveringly for the end of the occupation, the unity of the state, the safeguarding of human rights and basic freedoms of all the Cypriot people.
Our historical responsibility cannot be limited only to the mechanical reading of lists of dates and endless lists of heroes. We ought to translate the sacrifices of our heroes into our own 'being'. With honesty and sobriety, we must reflect on our debt to these glorious heroes and to future generations.
By turning the pages of our history, then, we also look to the future. We draw lessons, we recall memories, we understand the importance of our mission. I read somewhere that "every man, every people, becomes worthy of his historical mission as his awareness of his history deepens." The greatness of a nation's civilization is always proportional to the purity and depth of its historical memory.
The purity of this historical memory preserves indelibly 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 the heroes we commemorate today 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.
To paraphrase the words of Costis Palamas:
"We owe a debt to those who have come, passed,[/I]
will come, will pass."
The self-sacrifice of those who fought and died for their country, whom we honor today, may they become a glorious reminder of the course we ought to follow. Eternal be the memory of all the brave men and women who gave even their lives for the good cause.
Immortal heroes,
We honour and bow to your great sacrifice. Your memory will be eternal, as our struggle will be unceasing until the final vindication, the justification of your sacrifice.
Eternal be the luminous memory of our heroes.
(PM/EP)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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