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- Ελληνικά
"It was August and it wasn't raining.
And the fires that lit the planes
licked the earth angrily
from down on the seashore
to high on the bald hills.
"Rain God, rain!" writes Spyros Papageorgiou.
Telliria. August 1964. It rains fire and death. Two young men of the community of Armos fight heroically and sacrifice themselves, defending their homeland. We commemorate today with all the honour due to them two heroes of your community, Andreas Charalambidis and Andreas Hadjitheori.
Our presence today, in this holy Temple, is the minimum sign of honour and recognition of the sacrifice of the heroes we commemorate. Today, as humble pilgrims, we retrieve memories and walk through the historical sequence of martyrdom moments that led our heroes to eternity.
In the summer of 1964, the National Guard and volunteers were called upon to restore order in the area of Kokkina - Mansoura, where the Turkish army was attempting to create a bridgehead for an invasion in the area of Tilliria.
When the intercommunal riots broke out in December 1963, the Greek inhabitants of the village of Eleidi, where Andreas Charalambides was teaching, wanted to leave, fearing the Turks of the neighbouring village. After armouring the school, Andreas not only convinces the inhabitants to stay, but as another Leonidas he continues to teach the children every day with a gun in his hand ready to fall, defending his students if necessary.
Raised with feelings of love for his homeland, he cannot remain indifferent, and in the summer of 1964 Andreas volunteers to join the reserves from villages in the province. In August 1964, when the Turks try to expand the Kokkin enclave, Andreas departs with the 83rd Company for Tilliria, replacing a fellow National Guardsman.
Friday, August 7, 1964, the order is given for an attack to break up the Kokkin-Masoura enclave and at three in the afternoon the march to eternity begins. The firing was thunderous. The company faces a hail of mortars, which scatter death in a baptism of fire. At the age of just 24, Andreas falls in his arms with his shared weapon and forever faithful to his oath "to oenos excellent, to defend his fatherland."
Although the thread of his life is cut on 7 August 1964, Andreas remains immortal in the Cypriot consciousness, delivering lessons in heroism. At his funeral the next day, his family will be heard proudly humming "halali of our homeland, my son."
Absent from his funeral were the young people of the village, who, with a gun in their hands and the spirit of Andreas guiding them, continue to write the Tilliria saga in blood. Among them was Andreas Hadjitheoris, a hardworking community boy and athlete. When the homeland was in danger, he obeyed without a second thought to its call to fight and did not hesitate to take up arms and join the Armus team of the 83rd Paphos Company.
Andreas fought with courage on the front line, defending the Greek villages of Tilliria. He saw his fellow villager, friend and teacher killed beside him, but he did not retreat. True to his mission to take the high ground, he kept moving forward, marching simultaneously towards death and eternity. He did not emerge unscathed from the rain of mortars that awaited them. A mortar round struck him in the chest killing him. He fell and was inducted into the pantheon of heroes.
These two men, despite their young age, did not hesitate, immediately responded to the call of their country, fought and became examples of heroism, courage and self-denial. That August the soil of Tilliria was watered with heroic blood. Words are not enough to describe the magnitude of the sacrifice of these two brave men and all those who fought for the sacred good of freedom, both in 1964 and 10 years later in the unequal struggle against Attila.
This year marks 60 years since the battles of Tilliria and 50 years of invasion and occupation. No matter how much time passes, the wounds of the Cypriot people do not close. No one forgets.
Under no circumstances do we accept the occupation of 37% of our country's territory. Our supreme mission, imperative and historical debt to those who gave their lives for freedom is to continue our unremitting efforts for liberation and for the reunification of our divided island.
From the first moment it took office, the Government of Nicos Christodoulides has been working tirelessly to create conditions for the resumption of talks from the point where they were interrupted.
For us there is no other path than that of ending the illegal occupation and finding a solution within the framework of United Nations resolutions.
A solution that safeguards European principles and values, that allows all the inhabitants of Cyprus, without exception, to fully enjoy their rights in an environment of security and prosperity.
Turning to you, their families and their community, I declare that I am honoured to be here to commemorate two heroes of Cyprus and reiterate the State's commitment to exhaust every effort to end the occupation.
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 settlement of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions, with one sovereignty, one citizenship, one international personality, always in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, the European acquis and of course the principles and values on which the European Union is founded.
With reverence and undiminished commitment, we will continue to devote every bit of our energies to building a Cyprus that will be a symbol of peace, stability and progress in the region. A modern, European model country that guarantees the human rights of all its inhabitants, that guarantees hope and that is based on mutual respect and solidarity, ready to chart its own unique course on the map of world history. Feeling the pages of history, our minds travel. It dissolves the barbed wire of occupation, crosses our unforgettable occupied villages and coasts, dispels the cloud of nightmarish oblivion. Today our soul travels to the enchanting shores of Famagusta, Kyrenia and Morphou. To the castles of Pentadaktylos, to Agios Hilarion, to Vufavento. In the monasteries of the Apostles Andrew and Barnabas, in the places where hundreds of our compatriots lived, fought and sacrificed. Dead and missing, refugees and trapped, protagonists of a merciless modern tragedy, a tragedy that is still searching for catharsis and redemption. 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 awareness of his history deepens". The purity of this historical memory preserves the indelible wounds inflicted by discord, division and civil strife. It is therefore our duty 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, as well as those who fought for our homeland, let us consolidate the invincible front of unity.
Inspired by the heroic sacrifice of our heroes and all those who laid down their lives on the altar of Cypriot freedom, as well as 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 younger generations, for a reunited homeland, guide us in every step we take.
Honour to the land of Armos that gave birth, nurtured and sewed with the seeds of Hellenism and Christianity, these worthy children.
Immortal heroes Andreas Charalambidis and Andreas Hadjitheori,
We honour and bow to your great sacrifice. Your memory will be eternal, just as our struggle will be unceasing until the final vindication, the justification of your sacrifice.Your name will remain eternally written in the golden pages of the heroes of Cypriot history.Your sacrifice, as well as the sacrifices of all those who fought, will continue to illuminate our path and guide our steps.
(PM/EATH/NZ)
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