With reverence and modesty we have come to this holy place to honour with due honours a genuine Greek patriot. Driven by our national and religious duty, today we hold a memorial service for the hero Dimitrakis Papamiliades, who with the unquenchable flame of patriotism and his zeal for his homeland, sacrificed himself on the altar of freedom, adding his name to the pantheon of our heroes.
A beacon for our anti-combat struggle, a historical reminder of unity and unanimity, the national commemorations of our heroes are a reminder of vigilance on the national battlefields. I would therefore like to congratulate the President and the members of the Community Council of Agia Marina Xyliatou, as well as his relatives, who, by holding the memorial service for the hero Dimitrakis Papamiliades, keep his memory alive and unquenched, but at the same time maintain the message of self-sacrifice and the strength of the fighting spirit, so that we can draw lessons from history and forge our own path.
"Death to the brave is death to the brave", the poet wrote. Dimitrakis Papamiliades, nurtured with the ideal of love for his homeland, with inexhaustible mental and spiritual gifts, fell in the battles of Paphos on 9 March 1964, the day of his 33rd birthday. His participation in the battles against the Turkish mutiny of 1963-64, in the first attempt to overthrow the Republic of Cyprus, was the end of a great heroic course, which had its origin in the national liberation struggle of 1955-59.
Born into a family of seven children, the priest Papamiliades and the elder Eleni from Argaka, he was initiated into the ranks of EOKA on 6 July 1955 and active with the group of Agia Marina Xyliatou until the end of the struggle.
He collaborated with the sectoral leaders Reno Kyriakidis, Gregory Afxentiou, Noni Engrafou, George Matsis, Nikos Kosis and the fighters Charilaos Xenophontos, Charalambos X'' Styllis, Dinos Damianou, Antonis Papadopoulos, Andreas Stylianou and Andreas Venizelos. With Venizelos as team leader and together with other fellow fighters they built a hideout in the area of Agia Marina Xyliatou, where EOKA fighters found shelter. He took part in all the battles and ambushes in his sector, in the transport and concealment of guerrillas, weapons, bombs, ammunition, foodstuffs and correspondence from and to the Agia Marina Xyliatou sector to Nicosia, Agros, Pitsilia, Madari, Kazivera, Xeros, Lefka. He took part in raiding operations as well as in the capture and escape of the fighters Tefkros Loizou and Giannakis Epaminondas, when they escaped from the Kokkinotrimithias detention centre.
In November 1958, when the British imposed a strict blockade on the villages of Pitsilia, Papamiliades and other guerrillas organized diversionary operations with ambushes and explosions in the areas of Peristerona, Vyzakia, the bridges of Lagoudera and Panagia Pitsilia, restoring the unhindered circulation of correspondence and the orders of Chief Digenis to the section chiefs.
Few fighters had a similar selfless contribution in so many different areas in the liberation struggle, as the hero Dimitrakis Papamiliades.
With the end of the struggle Dimitrakis returned to Argaka where in 1962 he took the lead in organizing and training secret groups to protect the homeland of the Republic of Cyprus from the terrorist Turkish organization T.During the outbreak of the Turkish mutiny, in the period December 1963 - March 1964, Papamiliades was one of the first to defend the legitimate Cypriot state. He was sworn in as a special police officer and participated in the organisation of a group of fighters, as well as in the construction of improvised armoured vehicles. He showed particular militancy and bravery in the armed conflicts in Polis Chrysochous, Kokkinma and Androlykos. By his own risky actions, he managed to free from the Turkish Cypriots of Makounda all the Greek Cypriot hostages, who were working at the Argakas - Makounda sluice, contributing to the reconciliation and cooperation of the two communities.
On the fateful day of 9 March 1964 Papamiliades took part in the battle of Pafos.
On the fateful day of 9 March 1964 Papamiliades took part in the battle of Pafos. Together with his fellow fighters, he moves in a homemade armoured vehicle and marches towards the Turkish quarter. On the way they meet their fellow hero Kostas Karnavalos who, wounded, calls for help. Papamiliades, while trying to carry his wounded comrade, is hit by Turkish grenade shells.
The untainted, the ideologue, the versatile, and Greek-hearted Dimitris Papamiliades surrenders his indestructible spirit to the altar of Freedom, leaving behind his wife Varvara Anastasi and six orphaned children.
In the straits of Paphos a long heroic course of service and contribution of Dimitrakis Papamiliadis to his homeland was completed.
An exemplary family man, whose only asset was the strength of his soul, who stood proudly before the enemy, glorifying his homeland and the nation.
A freedom fighter who, through his sacrifice, sealed his irresistible action and his selfless offer, highlighting the proud and proud soul of our people.
Greeks,
Dimitris Papamiliades is among the heroes who, at the critical moment, chose the confrontation with death. With heroism and courage, he taught in practice that "Freedom needs virtue and courage".
The self-sacrifice of our fighters, the biennial confrontations on the marble altars of history, the voluntary libations on the blood-soaked altars of the struggling homeland, is a lesson, a beacon and a guide that will be perpetuated with the sword of immortality in our memory. It is an antidote to our minimum duty and moral obligation to secure the future of our homeland and our children.
But the sacrifices and struggles of our heroes still remain unjust. Unfortunately, for almost 48 years now, our people continue to experience the side effects of the miasma of occupation. Forty-eight years have passed since the ongoing crime against our homeland. Forty-eight years and we continue to strive for a solution that is fully in line with the principles and values of the EU and the UN resolutions. A solution of a bizonal bicommunal federation that is viable and, above all, functional. It will reunite the people and our divided homeland and free it from the unacceptable state of affairs, transforming it into a modern state that guarantees independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Despite the efforts of the President of the Republic for progress on the Cyprus problem and a return to talks, Turkey continues to escalate its provocative and aggressive behaviour.
Despite the efforts of the President of the Republic for progress on the Cyprus problem and a return to talks, Turkey persists in escalating its provocative and aggressive behaviour. The international arena and the tragic developments with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, once again present Turkey as the artful opportunist that exploits the circumstances and finds the crack to "accommodate" its ambitious plans and benefit in multiple ways. It assumes the role of the balancer and willing Trojan horse of one side against the other, continuing to "march" on the path of absurdity.
Absurdity, ladies and gentlemen, since we have reached the point of watching occupying Turkey calling on the two countries, Russia and Ukraine, to stop the war and contribute to world peace, ignoring its own invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the images of horror and atrocities left behind by "Attila the Terrible" and the ongoing crime against the small homeland.
An absurdity that brings Turkey not hesitating to even call on the EU itself, drawing a parallel between the case of Ukraine and its own request for EU membership. This at a time when, as a candidate country and as a NATO member state, it consciously chooses not to align itself with decisions and obligations stemming from a series of agreements and commitments.
And while the sirens are sounding in Ukraine, Cyprus recalls the nightmare of the 1974 Turkish invasion and the "historical parallel" with what is happening today in 2022: invasion, illegal occupation and violation of fundamental principles of international law such as sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. The connotation of war, refugee, loss, are concepts deeply rooted in the memory of the Cypriot people, recalled by the tragic events in the war in Ukraine.
Cyprus and its people, which was the first victim of foreign invasion and violation of international law on European soil since World War II in 1974, cannot but show tangible solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people and call for an immediate assurance of a ceasefire to end the tragic loss of innocent lives.
We also call for an end to the violation of sovereignty, human rights and the forcing of the Ukrainian people to take refugee status.
Our government and people unreservedly condemn the Russian invasion and stand with all our strength on the side of the suffering Ukrainian people.
Greeks,
Today's memorial service is an opportunity to stand with deliberation in the face of the tragedy of the moments and to count our historical responsibilities. We are condemned by history and mandated by our ancestors, but also obliged to future generations, to continue the struggle until the final vindication.
"Either alive or dead, likewise you speak and flee", hero Dimitrakis Papamilitadis, because as Aristophanes wrote, "heroes are never found in the darkness". Your exemplary and admirable fighting spirit is handed down to us, through your memory and sacrifice, as a legacy. We will cherish it and pass it on to future generations, to remind them of the debt.
The debt to you, the debt to your country and to future generations.
Eternal be the memory of your hero Dimitrakis Papamiliadis.
(EFYs)
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Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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