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- Ελληνικά
It is with feelings of deepest emotion and utmost respect that we bury today, here in his hometown, Krya Vrysi, Pella, Konstantinos Tsitiridis, whose name was until recently included in the long list of the missing persons of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. We mourn another worthy son of our homeland, paying, as befits him, the due honour, gratitude and recognition of his heroic sacrifice in defence of the dignity of the Republic of Cyprus.
Konstantinos Tsitiridis, of Pontus origin, grew up in Krya Vrysi, Pella. Nurtured by his family with the genuine ideals, the non-negotiable principles and the special values that characterize the Greek Nation, he was distinguished from a young age for his genuine love for his homeland, his selfless contribution to his fellow man and the wider society, his dedication to duty and his high moral courage. Recognizing, and fully feeling himself, the close historical and fraternal ties, but also the common destiny of Pontus and Greece with Cyprus, he had a deep desire to serve our island and to contribute to any need for its defence.
It is in this context that in the middle of his service in Kalamata he accepted with great pleasure his transfer to the Greek Cyprus Force, the honoured ELDYK known to all of us. During the Turkish invasion, already serving, for only a short time, in the 9th Infantry Battalion of ELDYK, he found himself, together with the rest of the soldiers, defending the land of Cyprus, showing unparalleled self-denial. Placing the dignity of our homeland above his life, he fought with courage and heroism in the battles that followed and remained missing since 16 August 1974.
Recently, it was possible to identify his remains, confirming his struggle and heroic sacrifice for the higher ideal of our homeland. The Office for Humanitarian Affairs of Missing and Trapped Persons of the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus, in cooperation with the General Staff of the Hellenic Army and after consultation with the family, proceeded with his repatriation, closing wounds that have remained open for decades. Moreover, as a minimal tribute to the sacrifice of Constantine Tsitiridis and other Greek Heroes, on May 30, 2024, all due honours were paid by the State, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Konstantinos Tsitiridis, Reserve Lieutenant Konstantinos Tsagalidis, whose burial took place a fortnight ago in Megaplatanos, Pella, and so many other Greek and Cypriot brothers who fought and sacrificed side by side in every trial of the nation, in every Greek corner, have forged the already strong bonds between us. They are the strong links that constitute and hold together the chain of our common history throughout the centuries.
For these ties we feel special gratitude and through them we seek to preserve and strengthen our historical memory, as a necessary condition for the survival and continuity of Hellenism. To this end, we invest in our Education. In an Education that will strengthen the historical consciousness of our children, so that they will be able to claim by peaceful means our liberation and our longed-for return to our ancestral lands. And allow me, among many other actions implemented by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth of Cyprus for this purpose, to highlight the recent decision of the State to include the 19th of May, the Day of Remembrance of the Pontian Genocide, in the days of official ceremonies in schools of the Republic of Cyprus.
At the same time, we remain committed to our duty towards the relatives of our missing persons, to whom we express our solidarity and unreserved support for the drama they have been experiencing every day for fifty years due to the undetermined fate of their loved ones. As the President of the Republic of Cyprus himself has repeatedly stressed, our Government makes it a priority to determine the fate of all our missing persons. We are well aware of the difficulties and obstacles caused by the attitude of the Turkish side, which over the years has refused to cooperate and to provide accurate and sufficient evidence. However, acting with particular sensitivity, we will continue to work to enhance the effectiveness of our actions until the final resolution of this humanitarian problem, which is a challenge to the whole of humanity.
At the same time, we will continue to strive to make our country a truly sovereign and independent state, a state of peace, prosperity and security for all its citizens without exception. In this effort we always have at our side the respective Greek governments and the Greek people, to whom we express our immense gratitude. Through diplomacy and peaceful dialogue, we seek to create a state in which democratic institutions are respected and human rights, the acquis communautaire, the principles of the United Nations and the values of the European ideal are applied. We seek the resumption of talks to achieve a just, viable and workable solution that will liberate and reunite our country, freeing it from foreign troops and anachronistic guarantee systems.
In this difficult struggle we are guided by the philanthropy of heroes such as Constantine Tsitiridis, as well as by the unanimity shown by Greeks and Cypriots, fighting side by side, standing up boldly against the invaders. Courage that indelibly engraved their own chapter in the history of the country, making it an integral part of it.
Today, when Konstantinos Tsitiridis will now rest in the soil of his hometown, we affirm together, as the greatest honour and debt to his sacrifice, that for this struggle we will expend all our strength, because we owe this to those who lived, grew up and died in exile, to those who are still waiting to return. This is the path that Greece and Cyprus will follow together again, under conditions of strong unity and unanimity, in order to justify their struggle and sacrifice and to be able to defend the rights and rights of our people.
Eternal memory of Constantine Tsitiridis and all our heroic dead.
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