It is with a sense of deep emotion and national pride that we have gathered here today, in the Holy Temple of the Wisdom of God, to perform a painful yet national duty. To pay tribute, addressing with due respect the Last Hail to another hero of the Turkish invasion of 1974, Constantine X'' Kyprianou, a soldier of the 261st Infantry Battalion.
A fighter of freedom and democracy, who turned to the call of our homeland and, faithful to his military oath, sacrificed himself for its defence, writing his name indelibly in the Pantheon of our Immortals.
Today, after almost 50 years, we bury the remains of Constantine X''Kyprianou, a worthy soldier of our homeland, who was among our missing persons.
Constantine X''Kyprianou, of Cyprus and Helen, was born on February 14, 1943, in the village of Kaliana.
Before the Turkish invasion he lived with his family, his wife, Theodora, and his two children, Ioannis and Eleni, in the village of Xeros.
In 1961 he had joined the National Guard and served his military service.
On 20 July 1974 the Turkish invasion of Cyprus began and was followed by general conscription. Being a true patriot and ready to defend the territorial integrity of our homeland, Konstantinos X''Kyprianou immediately enlisted as a reservist in the 261 Infantry Battalion, which was based in Galini and was a reserve recruiting station.
H''Kyprianou, like the rest of the men of the 261 Infantry Battalion, remained within the battalion's base until the evening of the following day, when they received instructions to proceed to the area of the Turkish Cypriot village of Limnitis, where the National Guard knew that there were armed Turkish Cypriots and that they were dangerous to the safety of the inhabitants of the area.
The men of 261 T.P., including H''Kyprianou, arriving in the Limnitis area, took up combat positions outside the village, assessing the situation and awaiting instructions for deployment.
On the morning of 22 July, a group, led by a Captain of the National Guard, received instructions to enter Limnitis and destroy a machine, which was in operation of unknown use and being used by armed Turkish Cypriots. The group, with great precautions, reached the location of the machine and destroyed it, but now revealing its presence behind the Turkish lines.
An exchange of fire ensued and the group attempted to return to its original positions, having already completed its mission.
In that fatal exchange of fire, some members of the group, including the Captain, were mortally wounded and carried by United Nations men to the National Guard positions. Some others managed to make it to the National Guard positions, while H''Kyprianou and another soldier's traces were lost. They have since given no signs of life and their names were included in the sad list of missing persons.
The remains of the fallen H''Kyprianou were found in the period 17-20 August 2021 in the Limnitis area, as part of the exhumation and identification of remains programme of the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee under the auspices of the United Nations.
The identity of his remains was established on the basis of anthropological and DNA tests that were subsequently carried out, and his family was informed by relevant officials of the Office of the Representative of the Greek Cypriot community to the Missing Persons' Committee of the identification of his remains.
Today, the previously missing reserve soldier Konstantinos H'Kyprianou returns to his family, relatives and friends, to be buried with the proper honours befitting a brave man who gave his most precious possession, his life, for the defence of the freedom of his homeland.
Today he will rest in peace, passing to the Pantheon of the Heroes of our country, relieving the pain of the martyrdom of waiting and uncertainty that for 47 years his loved ones experienced.
Today, as a State, we owe a big thank you to the hero Constantine X'' Kyprianou and his family, a big thank you to all those who fought, to all those who sacrificed that black summer of 1974.
The drama of the relatives of our missing persons is one of the most tragic aspects of the Turkish invasion. The face of every mother who gave and silently gives her own struggle while waiting for her child symbolically encapsulates the weight and pain borne by the wife, brothers, daughter, father, son and every relative, not only by the loss of their loved ones, but by living daily and patiently the agony and torment of their undetermined fate.
It is our obligation as a State to seek, in every possible way, to determine the fate of all our missing persons and I convey a clear message that we will persevere in this goal.
At the same time, we renew our commitment to wisely continue the struggle with all our forces for a just, honest and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, where the human rights and basic freedoms of all the Cypriot people are guaranteed, so that they can live in peace and security in the land of their ancestors.
This will be the greatest honour, the greatest vindication of the sacrifice of the hero Constantine H''Kyprianou. Your family should feel immense honour and pride. Respect and deep gratitude for your great sacrifice will accompany you forever.
(ΕΠ)
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