It is with great honour and deep emotion that I am here with you today, on behalf of the President of the Republic, to pay our eternal gratitude to Christos Theocharous, who heroically died during the Turkish invasion of 1974, who until recently was on the long list of missing persons and whose remains were recovered and identified by the Missing Persons' Committee.
To a worthy son of the fatherland, who offered his life in defence of our freedom and territorial integrity. To the hero who, with a spirit of self-denial and pure patriotism, responded to its call, ignoring the obvious dangers of the unequal struggle with the superior enemy.
On the betrayed Hot Gates of July and August 1974, the men of the National Guard and ELDYK units signed with their blood the right of the continuity of Hellenism in Cyprus.
On the betrayed Hot Gates of July and August 1974, the men of the National Guard and ELDYK units signed with their blood the right of continuity of Hellenism in Cyprus. Among them were the men of the 256 Infantry Battalion, who were written in the annals of history, with their heroic deeds and sacrifices for freedom and democracy, proving once again that this sacred land has never ceased to give birth to worthy continuators of its long history.
Christos Theocharous came from Milikouri and before the invasion he lived in Kalo Horio Lefka. He was married to Andriani and had a little girl of only one and a half years old, Euthalia. In that black summer of 1974, with the beginning of the Turkish invasion on 20 July, he left his family behind and enlisted as a reservist in the 256th Infantry Battalion, whose headquarters were in the village of Xeros.
At dawn on the same day, Turkish troops, outnumbered in air and naval power, managed to land a large number of tanks and war material on the coast of the Pente Mili area of Kyrenia and soon established a bridgehead, which they tried to unite with the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Nicosia-Agirta. Two days later a ceasefire was agreed, but the Turkish forces never respected what was agreed and continued at a steady pace to dismount military forces and advance, expanding the bridgehead in all directions.
On the sixth day of August 1974, Tuesday early in the morning and while the ceasefire was in force, one of the biggest battles of the invasion was recorded, as the overwhelmingly superior Turkish forces, with the support of the air force and the navy, began an operation to capture the small towns of Lapithos and Karavas.
Within the two inhabited places, the 1st and 2nd Companies of the 256 Infantry Battalion, men from the 286 Motorized Battalion, the 70 Engineer Battalion and later a company of the ELDYK were defending. Although the defenders' undertaking seemed doomed from the start, it nevertheless proved insurmountable for the Turkish army for hours. Among the soldiers who bravely defended the two towns was Christos Theocharous.
At noon the two companies of 256 were ordered to concentrate and establish themselves on the Vasileia - Babylas line. The Turks had already managed to infiltrate the area unseen and set up a deadly ambush in the reeds of Airkotissa, inflicting heavy casualties on the militia, with forty-nine killed or missing.
It was the last time Christos Theocharous was seen and since then his fate was unknown until 2019, when his remains were found in the area of Lapithos, as part of the exhumation and identification programme by the Missing Persons' Committee.
The announcement of the discovery of the remains to Christos' family was made in an atmosphere of deep sorrow and untold pain, as even a faint hope that existed was extinguished forever. After so many years of waiting and agony, the time has come today for all the relatives and friends of Christos to say goodbye to their own man.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The brutal Turkish invasion left behind destruction and indelible wounds. Dead, missing, wounded and thousands of people who were uprooted from their homes and lost their property. Parents who are still searching for their children and leaving life in old age with the bitterness of expectation and uncertainty.
The sacrifice of Christos Theocharous and all the honoured brave men remains today the beacon that will guide our national steps in any efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem.
48 years after the invasion, Turkey continues to violate every concept of international law and human rights.
48 years after the invasion, Turkey continues to violate every concept of international law and human rights.
48 years after the invasion, Turkey continues to violate every concept of international law and human rights.
48 years after the invasion, Turkey continues to violate every concept of international law and human rights. In today's extremely difficult global situation, with the war in Ukraine, it unfortunately presents itself as a peacemaker, trying to conceal once again that its revisionist ambitions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean region have never stopped.
It continues its provocations in our Exclusive Economic Zone, in the enclosed city of Famagusta and instrumentalizes human suffering, promoting illegal immigration to alter the demographic character of our island.
It continues its provocations in our Exclusive Economic Zone, in the enclosed city of Famagusta and instrumentalizes human suffering, promoting illegal immigration to alter the demographic character of our island.
It continues its provocations in our Exclusive Economic Zone, in the enclosed city of Famagusta and instrumentalizes human suffering, promoting illegal immigration to alter the demographic character of our island.
In this difficult environment caused by Turkey, it is a national and moral obligation of all of us to continue the struggle for the reunification of our homeland, on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions and EU principles and values. It is imperative to show goodwill for the resumption of dialogue and the package of confidence-building measures we propose is intended to assist this effort.
At the same time, we are committed to continue working tirelessly for the full investigation of the fate of the last missing person in order to close all the open wounds that have tormented their families for so many years.
Honor and glory to Christos Theocharous. Honor and glory to all those who fought and sacrificed for the freedom of our country.
Eternal be their memory.
Thank you.
(NΓ)
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