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- Ελληνικά
Once again, in midsummer, the sound of the Civil Defence sirens brings to our minds and hearts the horror of that summer...the summer that became a landmark for our lives, that divided our lives into before and after! Their sound creates a tightness in the chest, an ache in the soul, a complaint unanswered and the mind never ceases to wonder how this evil happened! It is hard for the mind of man to contain! As the poet writes:
It is hard to believe that the sea of Kyrenia brought them to us
It is hard to believe that the beloved sea of Kyrenia brought them to us
It is hard to believe that the beloved sea of Kyrenia brought them to us
It is hard to believe that the beloved sea of Kyrenia brought them to us
It is hard to believe that the beloved sea of Kyrenia brought them to us
.(Kostas Montis, Moments of the Invasion)
It is with such feelings of deep emotion, sadness and national pride for the fallen that today we once again hold the annual national memorial of the fallen during the Turkish invasion of 1974. For on such anniversaries, remembrance is a sacred legacy, and for the dead it is the least but most necessary honour that they deserve. At the same time, we pray for the finding of our missing persons, the determination of their fate and the redemption of their families, who so many years after the Turkish invasion are still living with pain, suffering and unanswered questions. Every time a funeral service is held for a missing person whose remains have been identified, even if almost five decades have passed, the pain is no less painful and the void of loss is filled by no words, no lasting honour.
Unpaid remains our debt and debt to the dead, unpaid debt and debt to the survivors, as long as the wound of the divided homeland remains open and bleeding.
As if the dramatic events of '63-'64, '68, which inflicted heavy wounds and losses between the two great communities of our small common homeland and spread fear and suspicion in the hearts of the ordinary people of this land, were not enough. As if the fomentation and maintenance of enmity between the communities of the Greeks and the Turks of Cyprus were not enough, in the early 1970s, discord and civil conflict between the Greeks was added, while Turkey was lying in wait.
When on 15 July 1974, the military junta of Athens and its Greek Cypriot collaborators on the island staged a coup d'état to overthrow the democratically elected government of Cyprus, the drama of the country's modern history was unfolding and culminating in its final act, and tragedy was the natural consequence. The atrocious actions against the constitutional order of Cyprus and the Republic led, a few days later, to the second crime against the Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins.
On 20 July Turkey, using the coup as a pretext, invaded Cyprus, in violation of the UN Charter and the principles governing international relations, ostensibly to restore constitutional order. In August, completely ruthless, it completed the destruction.
In reality, Turkey invaded the island in order to carry out its illegal plans and its objective of dividing Cyprus. The pretext of protecting the Turkish Cypriots is thwarted by the depopulation of the place by the Turkish Cypriots, their forced confinement by Turkey to our occupied land, the restriction of their freedoms, the alteration of the demographic character of their community, the targeted influx of settlers and the creation of conditions of intimidation.
Almost five decades after the Turkish invasion, the argument of restoring constitutional order is belied by the occupier's own actions.
This year marks the 49th anniversary of that bloody summer of 1974, which left its mark on all our souls, which forever marked, in the worst way, the history of our small homeland. The tragedy for the Greek community and for the other communities of the island was many times greater, the loss of property and people incomparably greater!
The unacceptable situation created by the Turkish invasion and the continuing occupation of a large part of our homeland is, unfortunately, constantly consolidating. Turkey has been demonstrating for decades the same intransigent attitude and continues the violation of human rights, the usurpation of our properties, the colonization, the destruction of the environment, the destruction of our cultural heritage and the claim of permanent presence of Turkish troops in Cyprus, disregarding the European acquis and ignoring international law. They fought unequally to keep every inch of land free, in an unequal struggle that was, on top of everything else, inherently betrayed and lost.
At the side of the fighters of the National Guard, who in the summer of 1974 were called upon to repel the Turkish aggression, were the children of ELDYK from the very first moment, as well as the commandos of the A' Squadron, who arrived on the island with the heroic operation "Niki". The children of Greece fought bravely, puffing out their chests with inexhaustible heroism against the numerous and armoured Turkish soldiers.
Despite the overwhelming superiority of the attackers, both in terms of the number of soldiers and in terms of equipment and air support, the resistance of the Greek Cypriot and Greek Cypriot fighters in 1974 was desperate but real.
Honour to those who in their lives
set and guarded Thermopylae
Never moved by debt
And more honour to them
when they predict (and many predict)
that Ephialtes will appear in the end,
and the Medes will finally cross.
(Konstantinos Cavafy, Thermopylae)
The betrayal of Ephialtes was present from the beginning!
The patriotic altruism and self-sacrifice of the warriors and the fallen of 1974 for the homeland and freedom gave continuity to the long tradition of philanthropy and libertarianism that emerges from the history of Cypriot Hellenism.
As genuine descendants of the heroes of the Nation, they demonstrated unparalleled courage, paying a heavy toll of blood in the struggle to defend the holy and sacred places of Hellenism on our island and writing golden pages of genuine Greek bravery and fighting spirit.
The numbers of dead and wounded document the magnitude of the sacrifice and contribution. Hundreds of human lives were lost on the bloody battlefields and in the wreckage of the flattened buildings from the bombardments. Thousands of human lives were scarred for the rest of their lives by the consequences of the destruction.
Women and old people, with terror in their eyes, panic-stricken and without destination, took the road of refuge, exhausted, seeking escape and salvation from the hell of war.
The image of the black-clad mothers of our missing day and night at the barricades, searching with silent tears for the truth about the fate of their children, comes vividly to mind.
Before the sacrifice of all those who sacrificed themselves defending our homeland, we pay the highest tribute and at the same time reflect on our own responsibility towards our history.
It is our historical responsibility to restore justice and legality.
We have an obligation to all those who have sacrificed for the justice and freedom of our country, to join in the common effort, with vision, determination, but also with wisdom, in order to remove the current deadlocks.
We cannot and must not ignore the fact that Turkey continues to violate United Nations Resolutions, Security Council Resolutions and European Union Conclusions condemning the military invasion and prolonged occupation of our country's territories.
We also cannot ignore the defiant and intransigent attitude of Ankara regarding the unacceptable proposal for a "two independent states solution", which is not and will not be an option on our part for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Despite all Turkey's provocative claims, the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicos Christodoulides, with strong will, is making continuous and tireless efforts to achieve enhanced involvement of the European Union in the Cyprus settlement dialogue process. The European Union is the best guarantee for the reunification of the island, for the smooth coexistence of all its legitimate inhabitants. A solution that will liberate our country and allow our people, after 49 years of continuous efforts and through historical compromises, to live together in security and prosperity.
This is the legacy we carry and in this direction we have the obligation to walk.
This is our unpaid debt and our debt to our heroes.
Eternal be the memory of the fallen of 1974 for the freedom of our homeland. We owe them the fight for the freedom of our homeland.
(MΓ)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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