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- Ελληνικά
It is with feelings of reverence, immense respect and deep emotion that today we bid farewell to another victim of the Turkish invasion. Another one of our compatriots, who was a victim of the tragedy of 1974, and together with the rest of our missing persons, constituted the most painful impact of the Turkish atrocity on our land. Today we are here to close the wounds of another of the hundreds of families who have been living for half a century, carrying a huge burden caused by the consequences of the summer of 1974.
Today we pay our last respects to Dimitrios Tsiousis from Aphania, who did not reckon with death and was written in the pantheon of Cyprus' heroes with his sacrifice and his unjust loss in August 1974, after the second phase of the Turkish invasion.
Dimitris Tsiausis of Antonis and Paraskevou, before the Turkish invasion, lived in Aphania with his family, his wife Artemou and his three children, Timothea, Andreas and Eleni.
Born in 1914, a few days before he met a martyr's death at the hands of the invaders, Dimitris would have been 60 years old. In the tragic circumstances of the invasion, Tsiausis remained with his family in their village, Aphania. There they experienced the uncertainty caused by the period between the first and second invasion on 14 August.
On the day of the second phase of the invasion, Dimitris was informed of the situation at the war front. As time passed, the situation began to become much more threatening, and then Dimitris Tsiausis and his wife Artemou made the decision to leave their village and seek refuge in Assia, where more and more civilians were rushing to save themselves. The village of Assia paid a heavy price that black summer.
But it was there that some of the blackest pages of those days were to be written, as the Turks did not account for children, women or elderly people. On the day of August 14, Turkish troops began new attacks on National Guard positions, marking the beginning of the second phase of the invasion.
Among the targets of the Turkish troops was the area of Mia Milia-Koutsoventi. Due to the superiority of the invaders, the men of the National Guard in the area of Mias Milias received instructions to disengage from the area and then the Turkish troops moved and occupied the villages of Trachoni Kythrea, Palaikythro and others, including Assia.
Tsiausis, as well as other inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, were trapped, along with the inhabitants of Assia, inside the village. It is estimated that the total number of people trapped in Assia that day was one thousand.
The following days would be marked by mass executions, murders and violence against ordinary civilians and civilians. After five torturous days and nights, where the Turks ordered all those trapped inside the village to remain inside their homes, while they carried out atrocious acts and violence.
On August 21, the Turks give a new order to the trapped inhabitants, and separate the men from the women. Specifically, they order the men to gather in houses in the village square, where the cafes were located, while the women and children were in other houses.
It was in that square that Dimitris Tsiausis was last seen. According to testimonies, Tsiousis was arrested by armed Turkish Cypriots, who drove him in a civilian vehicle, along with two other Greek Cypriots, Andreas Diarkou and Sotiris Thalassinos, in an unknown direction.
The group grave in which they were found also contained the remains of Solomos Solomos. Their remains were found in the area of the Turkish Cypriot village of Agia and their identification took place on December 18, 2023.
Dimitris was neither frightened nor afraid. He remained haughty, proud and free, as his own code of values and the protocol of a bygone era dictated. A code that stipulated that a man does not fear, does not bend and does not abandon his land. He remains there in his land, honouring it with exclusive dedication, with true devotion, faith and commitment to it until his last breath.
The tragic days of 1974 remain engraved with indelible ink in the memory of every Cypriot. On a day like this, just before the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion and occupation, words prove to be poor, unable to describe the pain, powerless in the face of 50 years of agony for the fate of our missing. The sacrifice of people like Dimitris is a reminder of our moral obligation to fight for freedom and the reunification of our wounded homeland. To fight for the ideals for which the young people of our country sacrificed themselves.
Today is the final epilogue of Dimitris' tragic story, but the wound does not close, no one forgets. The wound of our missing remains open fifty years after the invasion. Today we remove one more name from the long list of our missing persons and, at the same time, we declare our determination to make every possible effort so that the day will come when this wound will be closed once and for all, to finally bring relief to the families.
The President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides has placed the issue of our missing persons among his high priorities, and as the Head of the Service we are working systematically and responsibly to ascertain the fate of our missing persons, to gather additional information that will allow for more significant steps forward in this direction.
Our great ally in this effort is, on the one hand, our will, the families of our missing persons and the means at our disposal, while our great adversary remains the Turkish intransigence, which insists on turning a blind eye to a purely humanitarian issue and keeping important information that would pave the way for the tracing and new identifications of our missing persons.
Our task is to continue to work with all our strength to determine the fate of our missing persons, but also for the day of return. The President of the Republic, Mr. Nicos Christodoulides, supports this effort and stands by the families of the heroes and martyrs of our country.
Our promise to Demetrios Tsiausis, whom we bid farewell today, is that we will work until the sacrifice of all the heroes, martyrs and heroes of the Republic of Cyprus is vindicated. And, at the same time, to heal the wounds that the events of 1974 left on future generations. The wounds that the children of Dimitris Tsiausis, Timothea, Andreas and Elli and their families have been patiently carrying for fifty years.
The man who remained rooted and dedicated to his beloved land is buried today, 110 years after his birth in 1914. Today we bid farewell to a hero who never abandoned his village and his roots. He did not fear, did not bend and did not abandon his land, defying his own life. We ought to keep his memory unquenched and pass on to the new generation his love and devotion to his native land.
The legacy left by our Dimitris, who chose to remain smooth on the land that gave birth to him even in his twilight years, is a model of pride, principles and values, and shows all of us the path of responsibility and duty to continue the struggle for vindication.
We reverently bow our heads to Dimitri's sacrifice, but also to the martyrdom of his family, who have lost a husband and a father. Today we bid farewell to a hero who never abandoned his homeland. With feelings of respect, emotion and pride, the land of Cyprus is ready to welcome him. Fifty years later, Dimitris' soul will be laid to rest.
Dimitris, today your homeland bids you farewell, paying you the minimum tribute you deserve.
Eternal and honoured is your memory, Dimitris of Antonis and Paraskevi, and may the earth that will cover you be light.
(PM/MS)
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