It is with feelings of awe and deep emotion that we came to this holy temple to pay our last respects to yet another of our compatriots who, through his offer and sacrifice, became an example of bravery and deep commitment to the supreme and sacred duty of defending the freedom and territorial integrity of our homeland.
Forty-eight years later, we are still burying the remains of those who died in the Cyprus tragedy.
I thank the family for the honour of being here with them today.
I feel, like everyone else, honoured to speak for a hero. To put into words what the mind cannot always capture. For heroes, as Seferis points out, proceed with the starting point and destination of the unknown, without the expectation of personal benefit, without any reward, but only the satisfaction of offering the ultimate service to the homeland.
We are talking about you, Ranger Dimitris Pyrka, of Nicholas and Irene. We speak of you who did not hesitate to choose the path of duty and national dignity. You did not reckon the danger not out of naivety or ignorance, but out of an inner need to offer and a sense of responsibility towards your country. For you who, without a second thought, responded to her call to defend her rights and did not flinch for a moment in the face of death, remaining upright to the end.
With his remains before us, we reverently close our eyes to his sacrifice and express our deep gratitude for his immense contribution. History will also record his sacrifice for the freedom and territorial integrity of our country. And history is not only to record events, but also to constantly remind us of our duty towards our heroes and martyrs, which is none other than the vindication of their sacrifice.
Born here in Mammari on October 26, 1955, Dimitrios Pyrkas was nurtured by his teachers and parents, Nicholas and Irini, in the principles, values and ideals that make each of us proud of our national origin and roots.
On 20 July 1974, the date of the beginning of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Dimitris was performing his military service. He was a commando and served in the 32 Commando Squadron, whose headquarters were located in Tymbou.
At dawn on the same day, the Turkish troops, with the cover of their air force and shots from their warships, landed on the shores of Kyrenia in the area of Pente Mili, carrying with them tanks as well as other military vehicles and heavy weaponry. They thus created a bridgehead by arriving near Agios Georgios Kyrenia.
32 Commando Squadron undertook various missions to intercept the advance of the Turkish troops, together with other National Guard units.
The Company of the Squadron to which Dimitris belonged, after completing missions, arrived at Synchari, regrouped and awaited new instructions. At dawn on 22 July, the entire Company departed from Synchari and arrived at Alonagra Hill on the Pentadaktylus, where the commandos of the other Companies of the Squadron had taken up battle positions. All were ready to carry out whatever mission was assigned to them.
Immediately the new ordered mission to capture the White Mutt hill, also in the Pentadaktylus range above Dikomo, was put into effect.
The Ashri Mutti hill was manned by Turkish machine guns and was of great strategic importance.
As the men of 32 Commando Squadron advanced towards the Ashri Mutti hill, they came under heavy fire from a large number of heavily armed Turkish soldiers, who reinforced their positions with paratroopers. Fierce but unequal fighting ensued, which lasted for several hours.
During the exchange of fire, Dimitris was wounded in both thighs. He was assisted by three of his comrades-in-arms, who carried him a little further back to give him first aid. It became apparent that his injury was serious.
At that point in time and due to the numerical superiority of the Turkish troops and their superiority, the men of the squadron were instructed to return to the Synchari area and regroup. The danger of being trapped on the high ground was now only a matter of time.
Despite the effort made to transport the wounded commando Dimitris Pyrka, this was not possible due to the heavy fire and the morphology of the terrain. In the history of Dimitri's case, according to the testimonies given, the wounded man's strong desire to have his comrades removed immediately, due to the prevailing situation. Yet another act worthy of the morality and patriotism of our heroic commando.
As a result, Dimitris remained wounded in both thighs, on the Alonagra hill, which came into the possession of the Turkish troops. Since then he gave no signs of life.
A very small number of his bones were found in the area of the Alonagra mound in the period 2010-2012, in the framework of the exhumation and identification of remains programme of the Missing Persons' Committee.
And today, 48 years later, we celebrate his funeral praying to the Most High for the repose of his soul, with his parents Nicolas and Irene and one of his brothers, Kostas, not being present, having sadly departed to the Lord, without getting answers to their questions and without being able to touch his coffin, depositing on it their tears of love. His father in 2010, his mother in 1992 and his brother Kostas in 2014.
To the other two brothers of the hero, Panikos and Christos, as well as to the other relatives, we extend, along with our condolences and sorrow, our appreciation and gratitude for his great contribution to his country, as well as our admiration for the endurance shown throughout the years by their parents and themselves.
Today, 48 years after the black summer of 1974, hundreds of families of our missing persons still do not know the fate of their loved ones.
At the same time, in most families whose relatives have been identified, only a few or individual remains are delivered for burial, as in the case of the hero we are burying today due to the double and inhuman crime committed by the occupying power by destroying the primary burial sites and deliberately moving the remains to places unknown to us.
Turkey's responsibilities and obligations for creating the problem of the missing persons and perpetuating it through tactics and obstructions are heavy. The aim of the occupying power is not to solve the problem for the benefit of the families but to conceal and destroy all those elements that document the crimes committed by the occupying army against our people.
Despite the denial and intransigent attitude of the occupying power, we continue and intensify our efforts to provide answers to each and every family of our missing persons. This for us is a commitment and a duty to our heroes and their families.
In dedicating Dimitrios Pyrkas, our thoughts, and our whole being, are transported to those bitter and treacherous days of the summer of 1974. Our occupied lands, our ecclesiastical and cultural heritage, the graves of our ancestors, our dead and missing, cry out within us the great need for the rallying and unity of all in the struggle for the liberation of our land, for the reunification of our homeland, for the end of the occupation and for the safeguarding of the human rights and basic freedoms of each of us.
Greeks, Greeks,
Today, we are writing the epilogue of the tragic story of another worthy child of our homeland.
Today, Dimitris' parents, Nikolas and Irini, as well as his brother Kostas, who passed away with the pain of finding out his fate, would feel proud of their courage.
Dear brothers and sisters of our hero, Panicos and Christos,
Dear and respected relatives,
Words can give, only for a short time, balm to your aching soul. Behind today's ceremony, they project years of untold pain and suffering, years that have passed with many questions and great regret.
Cyprus bows before you. And for you it prays for God's consolation and for your man, your hero, the peace of his soul. Today you should feel proud of the unfailing heroism and the greatness of your dear brother's soul as we all feel.
I wish that the end of the long agony over the fate of your heroic brother will soothe your soul and ease your pain.
Dimitris fell in the line of duty and to him, as to all those who gave their lives for the freedom and independence of our Cyprus, we owe much. We owe our existence as the Republic of Cyprus as well as our dignity as free people.
Eternal and honored.
(PM/SX)
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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