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It is with deep emotion that we gathered today to honour and commemorate the fallen of the community of Agia Varvara, but also to pray a prayer to determine the fate of the missing.
We pay the minimum tribute to the fighters who sacrificed themselves for the homeland during the brutal Turkish invasion of 1974, recognizing their tremendous national contribution. To the seven men who fell heroically that black summer: Andreas Spanos, the two brothers Nikos and Stavros Hatzinikolis, Kostas Papoutsis, Dimitris Pantela Tzirkaka, Andreas Hatzigiakoomi and Prodromos Chrysostomou.
The heroic soldier Andreas Spanos was born in 1955. He joined the 231 Infantry Battalion of the National Guard. The day of July 20, 1974 finds him at the outpost "Aetofolia", under Agios Hilarion. He volunteered to reinforce a three-man team attempting to stop the Turkish invaders and was mortally wounded by an enemy grenade. His remains were identified by the DNA method years later, and in May 2003 he was buried in the soil of his hometown, Agia Varvara.
Born in 1953, Nikos Hadjinikolis was commissioned with the rank of Sergeant in the Heavy Weapons Company of the National Guard in 1972. While awaiting his discharge, in July 1974 he remained to offer his invaluable assistance to the ELDYK. On 16 August he was to write the epilogue of his life, taking his place in the pantheon of heroes.
The reserve commando Stavros Hatzinikolis, the older brother of Nikos, was born in 1950. Four days after the invasion began, he enlisted in the 33rd Commando Squadron. Following an order, he retreated from the hill of Aspri Mutti with three other comrades in the direction of Dikomo. Since then, his fate was unknown until May 2011, when his remains were identified by the DNA method. The hero was buried together with his beloved brother Nikos and his parents, who left in bitter ignorance of the fate of their two beloved children.
Kostas Papoutsis, born in 1945, is called to duty in Neo Horio Kythrea by the sirens of the invasion. On the front line in the Kyrenia area, he bravely fights an unequal battle with the conqueror. Together with his fellow soldier Dimitris Pantela, the Turks surround them and capture them in the village of Agios Georgios Kyrenia. Since then their traces have disappeared. Kostas' remains were recovered by DNA and he was buried with hero's honours in November 2017.
The heroic soldier Dimitris Tzirkaka was born in 1954. In 1972 he enlisted in the National Guard, and the invasion found him on the front line, fighting with self-sacrifice alongside his compatriot Kostas Papoutsis. Their remains were found in a mass grave and he was buried the same month, in November 2017.
Andreas Spyrou X' Yakoumis was born in Kythraia in 1954, but was buried in the soil here, in Agia Varvara. On 23 July 1974, and while in Kefalovryso, Kythraia, he volunteered to board a car with LOK soldiers transporting wounded to hospitals. His fate was unknown until July 2007, when his remains were found in Kazafani Kyrenia in a mass grave.
Prodromos Chrysostomou, from the village of Koutsoventi, was born in 1946. He enlisted as a reservist in the 306 T.P., in Neo Horio Kythrea. Together with his comrades-in-arms, on 22 July he was led outside Kyrenia, on the front line of the front. After the unequal battle and the retreat of the soldiers to a camp near G.S. Praxander, his fate remained unclear for 36 years. He was buried in March 2010 in Agia Varvara, where his family ended up after the invasion. The Turkish invasion finds him as a reservist in the occupied village of Pendaya. The Turks, despite the ceasefire, violate the agreements, and since August 6, his relatives have been waiting for his fate to be determined.
The reserve soldier Antonakis Kezaridis, from Farmakas, born in 1950, is also missing. He runs at the first call of his homeland to face the conqueror. He was captured by the Turks and has been missing ever since.
The reserve commando Christodoulos Toumba, born in 1949, from Agia Varvara, took part in the battles of Lapithos and Karavas. August 13 was the last day he saw his family.
Nearly half a century has passed since the summer of 1974 and our goal remains unchanged: liberation from the illegal Turkish occupation and the achievement of a viable and workable solution within the framework of the United Nations. A solution that will reunite our island and our people and create conditions of peace and prosperity for all its legitimate inhabitants.
The resumption of the talks is a top priority of the President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Christodoulides, who continues to remind that the current state of affairs cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem, and that the passage of time creates new fait accompli, further distancing the prospect of a solution.
Despite the unacceptable actions of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leadership, which are condemned by the international community and which undermine the effort to revitalize the negotiations, our efforts continue tirelessly.
Through a series of initiatives and contacts, both within the European family and with our international partners, the President of the Republic aims to engage the European Union more actively to break the deadlock caused by Turkish intransigence.
The aim is for Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side to enter the negotiations within a positive, mutually beneficial agenda. In this direction, it is necessary to avoid new provocations, tensions, and fait accompli both on the ground and especially in Varosha.
Paying tribute to those who fought for the freedom of Cyprus is an unpaid and urgent debt for all of us.
We must and must demonstrate a fighting spirit, faith in our rights and unity.
We must and must demonstrate a fighting spirit, faith in our rights and unity. It is necessary to rally, putting aside pettiness and passions, aiming at the reunification of Cyprus and its people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike. This is our debt and our duty.
Eternal be the memory and the glory that will accompany the heroes of Agia Varvara. We unite our wishes and pray for the determination of the fate of all our missing persons and pray for the return of our refugees to the soils that nurtured them.
(Ephys/NG)
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