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For their supreme, selfless contribution to the homeland, we reverently honour today our heroically fought and gloriously fallen brothers and sisters, presenting them with wreaths of gratitude and asserting that the struggle will not cease until their vindication for the fulfilment of our national goals.
Today we commemorate the heroes of the Lythrodonda Community, drawing strength from the greatness of their self-sacrifice, underlining the urgent need for unity and vigilance.
Sixty years have passed since the 1963-'64 Turkadarsia, and forty-nine years since the heinous coup d'état and the brutal Turkish invasion. The price paid by the Lythrodonda community is unbearable considering how far the enemy was outnumbered.
The first to be included in the Pantheon of Heroes of Lythrodonda were sacrificed during the turbulent period of 1963-'64.
Filios Tsigarides served as the officer in charge of the Larnaca Police Station and during the riots of '63 was called to go with his platoon to Agios Theodoros Skarinos. On 25 April 1964, he was shot unprovoked by a Turkish sniper while cheering up the gendarmes at the outposts and died shortly afterwards.
In 1963, 17-year-old Antonis Christoforou Simeonides, the eternal teenager of Lythrodontas, volunteered his services to his country. He was arrested by the Turks on 30 July 1964 at the Green Line near Ermou Street in Nicosia and, after being subjected to torture, was executed in cold blood. Fifty years after his sacrifice, his bones were found and identified by DNA and he is buried with all the proper honours befitting a hero in his community.
At the outbreak of the coup and the subsequent Turkish invasion in 1974, the heroic community again rushed to respond without hesitation.
The brave soldier Georgios Ioannou Pachoularas, on 20 July 1974, moved with his battalion from Bogazi to Kyrenia, which was the first to receive Attila's hordes. At Aspri Mutti of Pendadactylos, they were overtaken by the Turks, who murdered Georgios during the retreat.
On 14 August, in the occupied village of Tziaos, Leontios Costis Konstantinou, Nikos Constantis Agapiou, Theophylactos Petros Kyriakidis and Antonis Costis Aspri were killed by Attila. Their remains were found in a well, identified and buried with all due honours in 2009.
Loyal to duty, the reserve heroes Andreas Orphanides, Chrysanthos Chrysanthou, Theravenaeus Zenonos, Nikos Spyrou, Andreas Apostolou, Panagiotis Lambrou, Cyprus Nikolaou and Stefanos Stefanou also fell in combat.
Loyal to duty, the reserve heroes Andreas Orphanides, Chrysanthos Chrysanthou, Theravenae Zenonos, Nikos Spyrou, Andreas Apostolou, Panagiotis Lamprou, Cyprus Nikolaou and Stefanos Stefanou also fell in combat. On the day of Panagia, the lads were arrested by Turks, after they had caught up and left their names written on a piece of paper. Their tragic end has recently come to light: they were executed in cold blood and buried in a mass grave in Bekioyu. Their remains were also identified and the proper honours were paid to them.
Andreas Georgiou Therissos, father of two children, who had enlisted as a reservist, also died heroically. He breathed his last two days after the Turkish invasion, fighting bravely and valiantly in the land of Kyrenia. From August 1974 his fate was unknown until 2015, when his remains were identified. After a long wait, he was buried with due honors in his hometown.
After escaping from the bombardment of Turkish planes that had struck his battalion at Gerolakkos, soldier Panagiotis Andreas Karoloi was shot down by the Turks. Three of his fellow soldiers who survived testify that he fought relentlessly against the invaders, barricaded behind a stone, until he saw his helmet roll down.
Since then, the heroic lad was missing until his remains were found in the Turkish Cypriot village of Kabyli. His family, the Community and the State bid farewell to the hero with honour and pride in 2015.
Among the fallen are the previously missing Stavros Alexis Stavrou and Nicholas Chrysanthou.
Stavros was a charismatic young man, endowed with the virtues of generosity, honesty and kindness, and characterized by a great sense of humor.
A true son of his homeland, he was eager to defend its sacred soil, fighting with courage and pride against the Turkish invader. Since January 2020, he has been resting in his hometown.
Nikos Chrysanthou, who remained missing for decades, was last seen during the retreat of his battalion in the village of Templos. Since then he was included in the long list of our missing brothers. His scanty remains were recently found in the area of the Turkish Cypriot village of Templos, where he was found to have fallen in heroic combat, and was subsequently buried with full honours.
Despite the recovery of the remains of many missing persons, the fate of two heroic braves of Lythrodontas is still unknown today. Their relatives are experiencing the silent pain of ignorance, hoping that soon the martyrdom will end for them too.
Georgios Papachristou fought valiantly with the enemy in the area of Mias Milia. According to testimonies, he was executed in cold blood, but his sacred bones have not yet been found.
Equally tragic was the fate of the brave reservist Pantelis Michael Psyllo, who on 20 July 1974 responded without hesitation to the call for conscription.
Greeks,
We have a duty to deliver an intact, free and safe homeland.
As a State, our position, through the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nicos Christodoulides, remains steadfast and firmly committed to finding a solution based on United Nations Resolutions and the principles and values of the European Union.
We call on the international community and the EU to contribute to finding a workable and viable solution that guarantees above all the human rights of all the people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
The unity and unanimity of our people would be the best memorial for all these heroes who showed us the way through their struggles and sacrifices.
Courageous youths, eternal citizens of the infinite sky, glorious and honored throughout the ages be your name!
(MB/EXP)
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