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- Ελληνικά
"[...] A terrible summer for the people,
they brought the dead through the back door to St. John,
the coffins, he said, could not hold them.
You knew him differently
the Cypriot sun [...]"
With the lyrics of the Cypriot writer Lefkios Zafeiriou from the poem "15.7.1974" we recall moments from the turbulent historical journey of the Republic of Cyprus.
The black July of 1974 is for our people a nightmarish and disastrous milestone in history and time.
It was a horrible, dark moment of absolute destruction and unfathomable misfortune for our country.
The civil division, the treason, the fratricidal instigated coup d'état and the barbaric Turkish invasion traumatized our country, wounded our people and determined and determine our future course even today.
Remembering the victims of this painful period, we pay our due tribute and gratitude.
At the same time we declare that we will continue the struggle to build the free homeland that our people deserve and for which the heroic fallen and fighters of Cyprus gave their lives.
Our debt to our homeland requires us to keep the memory of the fratricidal events of black July 1974 unquenched.
Never again in the future shall discord, treachery, hatred and the deceitful methods of foreigners come between us.
The sad anniversary of 15 July documents that slavery to foreigners, division and fanaticism can only bring evil.
This sad anniversary teaches us that freedom and democracy are fundamental goods that we must guard like the apple of our eye.
Sensing, therefore, the magnitude of the betrayal, we return mentally to 15 July, the beginning of the Cypriot tragedy, which was completed with the Turkish invasion five days later.
"An ah as a sigh
an ah of rage and iron
in the foliage of summer.
[...]
With so many unjust memories
on the fingers of a day
that we feared it before it came
with so many unjust memories
that we longed for it to come."
In his poem, the Cypriot journalist and writer Anthos Lykaύγης refers to the injustice, the bitter sigh, the death caused by the fratricidal conflict, the absurdity of division, and the nightmare that spread over Nicosia and covered the whole of Cyprus that cursed summer.
The civil strife, which is unfortunately a frequent phenomenon in Greek history, like a curse devoured the bowels of Cyprus, opened wide the doors of entry to Turkey and facilitated the implementation of its dichotomous plans.
The Turkish invasion was the fatal and tragic outcome.
And the youth of Cyprus, both enlisted and unenlisted, were once again called to arms.
The heroic young people of Cyprus were called to defend the freedom and territorial integrity of our homeland against a qualitatively, quantitatively and militarily superior opponent.
Although they faced betrayal, inadequacy and criminal indifference head on, they stood bravely against the invader and fought to the end for the holy and sacred of our homeland.
In the face of the sacrifice of the heroically fallen defenders of our Cyprus, we must also consider our own responsibility, our own debt and duty towards our history.
The indomitable heroic souls of those of our children who perished in the hell and fire of war are present here today, mentally, with us.
On 20 July 1974, five days after the insanity of the coup d'état, Turkey illegally invaded the northern coast of the Republic of Cyprus, in violation of the United Nations Security Council Charter, calling its violent military operation a "peacekeeping intervention" to protect Turkish Cypriots. In violation of all military ethics, the Turkish Attilacs ravaged and looted our towns and villages and indiscriminately spread death, devastation and destruction.
The thousands of dead and wounded, the uprooting from the ancestral homes and the refugees, the drama of our missing and trapped people, the confiscation of places of worship, the destruction of our cultural heritage and the mass colonization and dehumanization of our occupied territories, with the aim of eliminating the Greek element, constitute, among other things, the tragic picture of the destruction that is taking place to this day in our occupied territories.
Here today, in a course of historical retrospection, memory returns to the dark pages of the past and the gloomy days of July and August 1974.
It feels our still unhealed wounds, measures the unbearable pain and bears witness to all those occasions when the strength of soul and the daring of our heroic braves combined with wisdom and morality and gave birth to heroic examples of manhood that make us proud.
In the battles fought at Mia Milia, Kythraea, Synchari, Klepini, Lapithos, Kyrenia, Lorovouno, Koutsoventis, and elsewhere, the defenders of the freedom of Cyprus, demonstrated unparalleled courage by paying a heavy toll of blood in the struggle to defend the holy and sacred places of Hellenism on our island and wrote golden pages of bravery and militancy in the delts of the nation.
In the ears of the fighters of Cyprus and Greece, the imperative rhyme of Pallikaridis, the last student hanged during the EOKA period, resounded.
For you, my mother Cyprus,
My enslaved homeland,
I will give every drop of my blood,
To see you free and glorified,
I will not hesitate, my Cyprus, to fall into the fire.
Today, we commemorate and express our immense gratitude to all those known and unknown warriors of 1974.
We are grateful to the fighters of the infantry units, who gave every last ounce of their strength on the battlefields.
We remember the legendary Commandos, who tamed the rugged mountain tops of Pentadaktylos, Lorovouno, Koutsoventi, White Moutti and St. Hilarion, They put into practice "O Toldon Nika" and wrote their name in gold letters in the deltas of history
We thank the black-skinned armoured men, who showed everyone that glory is gained through daring and determination.
We are also grateful to the fallen Gunners, who fought bravely in the effort to repel Turkish aggression.
We remember the heroic diggers of the Engineers, who in Lapithos, Karavas and Famagusta, were on the front line laying minefields exposed to the Turkish air force and implementing route destructions.
We thank the Transversaries who fell performing their duty and mission in communications with the meagre and problematic means at their disposal.
We especially honour, thank and commemorate the glorious fighters of the Hellenic Force Cyprus and the 1st Commando Squadron.
We especially honour, thank and commemorate the glorious fighters of the Hellenic Force Cyprus and the 1st Commando Squadron.
The children of Greece who, as true descendants of the Macedonian Gladiators and Pindomachs, but also of all the heroes of the Nation, demonstrated unparalleled courage, paying a heavy blood tax and adorning the pantheon of the Nation's heroes with their greatness and their unparalleled sacrifice.
Remembering today all those lads who fought or perished in the flames of the coup and invasion, we make a promise to them.
That we will not forget the betrayal and crime and will vindicate their sacrifice and struggle.
That we will not submit and surrender as they did not submit and surrender.
That we will not submit and surrender as they did not submit and surrender.
That we will not cede the sovereign rights of our homeland and will not allow the dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus.
That we will not accept a dichotomous solution that will consolidate the fait accompli of the invasion and turn Cyprus into a protectorate of Turkey.
That we will continue on the path of responsibility and dignity until that longed-for day dawns when we will not go to our occupied territories as visitors, when we will not go to our churches as tourists, but will live there again, permanently rooted in the lands of our ancestors.
As we approach the tragic days that we will commemorate the 49th anniversary of the Turkish invasion to Cyprus, back in July 1974, we pledge that we will remember our people who lost their lives, continue the search for our missing persons, and pay tribute to all those who fought against the brutal invader.
For 49 years, Cyprus and its people are experiencing the tragic consequences of the Turkish invasion every day.
We are experiencing:
- The unjust loss of hundreds of people and the violent uprooting of tens of thousands of families.
- The continued illegal military occupation of more than one-third of the land of the Republic of Cyprus.
- The violation of fundamental freedoms and fundamental rights of all refugees.
- We are experiencing the Illegal Turkish colonization.
- The missing persons, the fate of whom has not been clarified yet.
- The destruction of our cultural and religious heritage.
Today we count forty-nine tragic summers.
But we also count forty-nine years in which the Cypriot people have not compromised, not given up, not forgotten.
My presence here today signals our government’s strong interest and desire to maintain our close ties and close relationship.
We remain committed in supporting our thriving Cypriot diaspora in the US.
We highly value your immense contribution to both the country where you live and work, as well as for the fact that you have never forgotten your roots, your heritage, and our beloved Cyprus homeland.
I want to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for your efforts to inform and enlighten not only the political establishment but also all the American society about the plight of our island and our efforts to bring an end to its illegal division and illegal Turkish military occupation.
We are proud to see that your efforts, over the years, are successful and have brought positive results.
We now have a thriving and enhanced bilateral cooperation between Cyprus and the United States.
Cyprus and US relations have never been stronger.
We have achieved strides in our Defence cooperation over the past years.
We aim of achieving a robust and strategic defence and security partnership mutually beneficial for our countries.
We are proud that this cooperation contributes to the security and stability of the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf.
The lifting of the anachronistic US arms embargo to Cyprus was a milestone decision, one decision that your efforts also played a role, and will lead to more enhanced cooperation with the US.
On behalf of the Government and the people of Cyprus, I want to express our most sincere appreciation for the active and positive role that the United States has maintained within the Security Council on the Cyprus problem, as well as for the efforts toward the solution of our problem.
We count on US support and on you conveying this message, as we work to resume negotiations for a comprehensive settlement.
As we stand here today, we indeed feel that our nation is great, not defined by our size, but by our people, home, and our diaspora.
All of you, η Ομογένεια μας, you are the pillar on which we can rely – and dear compatriots, today Cyprus needs you, perhaps more than ever before.
Our vision is to re-establish the whole of Cyprus, from Paphos to Apostolos Andreas, from Famagusta to Kyrenia, as a place of peace, prosperity, stability and security that will offer protection and equal prospects of prosperity to all its legal residents making it a reliable partner for Europe in the Eastern Mediterranean.
[…] Γνώμες, καρδιές, όσοι Έλληνες,
ό,τι είστε, μην ξεχνάτε,
δεν είστε από τα χέρια σας
μονάχα, όχι.
Χρωστάτε και σε όσους ήρθαν, πέρασαν,
θα ’ρθούνε, θα περάσουν.
Κριτές, θα μας δικάσουν
οι αγέννητοι, οι νεκροί […].
Ο μεγάλος μας ποιητής Κωστής Παλαμάς, στο ποίημά του μας υπαγορεύει την ουσία της προσφοράς προς την πατρίδα.
For the rights of the homeland, for the rights of our people, for the dead and for future generations.
We have a heavy responsibility towards our homeland and our history.
This is what our unpaid debt to our heroes demands of us, and this is why their sacrifice calls us for so many years.
This is the legacy we carry and in this direction we have the obligation to move, until the longed-for day of the liberation of our homeland.
Until the blessed hour comes when we will proclaim the joyful message that the occupation is dead and our Cyprus is smoother.
Eternal be the memory of all the heroes of our homeland and may the Almighty answer our prayers and pleas for the determination of the fate of all our missing brothers and sisters.
Thank you.
(AF/EXP)
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Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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