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Chapel of Saint Thyrsos, Platy Aglantzia - 22 July 2024
Your Grace Bishop of Karpasia, respected priesthood,
Honorable Members of Parliament and representatives of political parties,
Honorable Lady Representative of the Ambassador of Greece in Cyprus,
Dear Chairman of the Aigialousis Community Council,
Dear Mr. representative of the CMP,
Respected members of the families of the heroes,
Dear Yialousites,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The character of a place charged with a special quality is printed in the works and days of those who breathe it, says Kyriakos Charalambidis. I borrow his words from the work Aegialousis Episkipsis. This is because our land, which for 50 years has been experiencing the greatest tragedy in its history, is special, unique, blessed.
And we, half a century after the Turkish invasion and the ongoing occupation, have a duty to honour those who fought for our small but heroic homeland. To do justice to their sacrifice. To keep our memory alive. After all, as our great poet himself has said, memory is the only home of the people.
With the intercessions of St. Thyrsos, the "Cleos of the Carpases and the Aglaism of the Cypriots", we have reverently gathered here, in the chapel of the saint, whose memory we celebrate, to pay a minimum tribute to the Yialusite heroes, to our unfortunate compatriots. On the occasion of our presence here, we ask God to lighten the cities of the Carpathians, to heal the wounds of those relatives whose sacrifice gave perpetual assurance of loyalty and respect for the territorial integrity of our homeland, and to soothe the wounds of all mothers in pain.
With feelings of deep emotion and respect, we honour the heroes of Yialousis, the EOKA fighter Stavros Stylianidis, who was killed at the age of thirty in Episkopeio by a bomb explosion, the fallen: Lieutenant Vasilios Siambtanis, Sergeants Petros Charalamboudis and Georgios Raftis, soldier Leonidas Leonidou, soldier Giannakis Liasis, who was on the list of the missing for forty years and is the first to be buried in the occupied territories and specifically in Agia Triada, Private Konstantinos Konstantinou and Private Kostas Giagou, who left his wife and three-month-old daughter for the defence of our Cyprus. We also honour those executed in cold blood: Michalis Paraschos, Odysseas Ilias, Panikos Kemeckis, Pavlos Hadjidemitris, Pieris Adamou, Savvas Hadjipantelis, Stelios Savvidis, Christos Kosmas, Christos Hadjinikolaou. We honour those who are still on the list of the missing: Ioannis Charalambous, Koumis Mavrommatis and Christodoulos Kaoutzanis. We also honour those who lost their lives in the deadly explosion in Mari, Captain Andreas Ioannidis and Captain Lambros Lambrou, as well as those who died in the line of duty, Lori Argyrou, Nikos Orfanidis and Kyriakos Zachariou. All of them are philanthropic people, heroic presences, people with an alpha capital letter.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Coming from Yialousa, the small town next to the yale, as its name indicates, and whose inhabitants are unfortunately scattered in two hundred neighbourhoods, I, too, with the same pride as you, lay wreaths of glory and gratitude to the memory of our nobly fought heroes. For this is fitting for those who identified their life and death with the highest ideals. Moreover, according to the excerpt from Pericles' "Epitaph" which is inscribed on the Yalusite Heroon: 'Men of good deeds done in deed and declared to be honourable'. These words were translated into action with tonight's event of remembrance and honour by the president and members of the community council of Aialousis, despite the fact that they are housed in a warehouse in Platy without even the basics. Am' epic am' work! The same was done by the church committees of Archangel Michael, Agia Marina and Agios Thyrsos, the School Ephorate of Aigialousis, the Association of Yalousites, the Charitable Foundation of the Hero-Martyr Savvas Hadjipantelis and the Association of Women of Yalousa. I warmly congratulate each and every one of them individually and thank them for the honorary invitation.
With deeds, then, and not only words, we ought to rescue the memory that has fallen into the darkness of oblivion, to listen from the graves of our heroes to their call not to forget and to fight until the liberation of our occupied territories. Let us, friends, regroup our forces and unite to oppose the Turkish provocation, the Turkish leadership, which half a century after the invasion of our ancestral lands persists in its aggressive policy and attempts to create new defaults in the enclosed area of Famagusta and in the Cypriot EEZ. The state owes a heavy debt to the relatives of our missing persons, who are painfully waiting for the process of determining the fate of their own people, our own people, to be completed.
Dear all,
Cypriot Hellenism has fought battles. It has endured. And it has proven that no matter how wounded, its stand remains high, unyielding and unshakable.
Half a century after the invasion and the ongoing occupation of our homeland, Turkey and the occupying regime persist in their aggressive policy and are attempting to create new fait accompli.
The Cyprus problem, dear ones, is a question of legitimacy and justice. But in order to unlock the process of its resolution, we need both national unanimity and the contribution of the European and international community, which we have once again called upon to exert influence. To defend justice. To stand by our side, without asterisks, without discrimination, without double standards. And only a solution that complies both with the United Nations Charter and the relevant resolutions and with the principles and values of the European Union can be workable and sustainable.
It is imperative once again to underline our actions for the resumption of negotiations on the agreed solution framework, which is a bizonal bicommunal federation with political equality, as well as our belief in finding a just solution to the Cyprus problem, with one sovereignty, one citizenship, one international personality and based on respect for the nationality, language, religion and culture of all the legitimate inhabitants of our island, away from anachronistic guarantees and occupying troops.
The liberation and reunification of our land is a one-way street. Only in this way will our land both be redeemed and know the future it deserves. I entered and stood / In the house of salt, in a pit / A woman with a mantilla brought me water, / Offered me a sweet. [...] All I wish is that from time to time / I may have her permission to see again / The sweet face of my desire."
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let us not let the sacrifice of our heroes go to waste. Let the sacrifice of our heroes ignite our desire to return as legal owners to our homes. Let us all aim for the Homeric "oikade t ελθέμενai ja ízτιμον ήμαρ ιδεσθαι", for "ουδέν γλύκιον πατρίδος". I hope that soon the bells of the church of Agios Thyrsos in Yalousa will ring joyfully and that this will be the last black anniversary of the invasion!
Glory and honor to the heroes of the community of Yalousa! Immortals!
(The text as sent by the House of Representatives)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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