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- Ελληνικά
Sacred and national duty leads us to the venerable Monastery of Our Lady of Machairas to pay due tribute to one of the great heroes of Hellenism and to keep the flame lit by his sacrifice.
It is with great emotion that we remember Gregory Afxentiou, the son of Pieris and Antonia from Lysis, who at the age of 29 became a symbol of those everywhere who fought for universal human values and won a place in the pantheon of the immortals.
It is a unique honour for me to honour for the first time, in my capacity as President of the Republic, the contribution of Gregory Afxentiou. And I sincerely feel the burden of responsibility to pay due respect to the greatness of the man who consciously chose a horrible death for the freedom of our country.
And rightly so, the sacrifice of Afxentios occupies a prominent place in the history of our country, but also of Hellenism in general. It was, after all, a conscious act of heroism that makes us justifiably proud, but at the same time indicates to us the obligation we have, at least to at least appear worthy continuers of the path he has blazed. In March 1956, about a year after the beginning of the most glorious struggle of Cypriot Hellenism, the struggle of EOKA, Gregory Afxentios settled in this holy Monastery that hosts us today. Wearing a robe and pretending to be a monk by the name of Chrysanthos, he devises and executes his plans. Monumental are the incidents that show him with a revolver loaded and offering sweets and commandery to the British, who even tried to get information from him about the notorious Afxentiou, who acted under the pseudonyms Zidros, Aias, Rigas, Zotos, Antaeus and Ares. Whatever his name was, he was the terror of the English, who had put a price on his head.
"In the last need I will fight and die like a Greek, but they will not take me alive," Gregory would say to his fellow soldiers, and those who knew him said that he had long been ready for his heroic exit.
With intense activity in the wider region, Afxentios and his group achieved continuous and successive blows to the colonialists. Around the end of 1957, the siege began to tighten, prompting the EOKA deputy leader and his group to take refuge in their legendary hideout, here below the monastery. In March, the British began a thorough search of the area, based on information they had unfortunately secured that Grigoris Afxentios and an undetermined number of fighters were hiding somewhere nearby. Eventually, the British were informed of the existence of the cache and called on the rebels to reveal themselves. But to no avail. Surrender and abandonment had no place in the value system of Afxentios and his four companions, Augustis Efstathiou, Antonis Papadopoulos, Phidias Simeonidis and Andreas Stylianou, to whom it is no coincidence that we bid farewell today for the journey to eternity. Afxentius orders them to surrender. "I will fight and die," he told them. Which is exactly what happened. The deputy leader of EOKA was left alone in the hideout, facing a large group of British soldiers. They shouted for him to reveal himself and surrender. But in vain again. A British corporal who approached the entrance to the cache falls dead under the fire of Afxentius' gun. A grenade is then thrown inside the cache and Augustus returns ostensibly to carry the lifeless body of his second-in-command. "Come on, now there are two of us" he shouts to the British and the battle goes on for about eight hours.
The hour passes to no avail for the colonialists, who, realizing that there is no other choice, resort to the inhuman solution, to choices and actions that humanity thought would never be lived again after World War II. They wet the hideout with gasoline and set it on fire. The hideout turns into a fiery inferno, but the Sword Eagle of the Maharajas takes on his armed pursuers with no regard for death.
Dignified and unyielding to the end, he remained consistent with the heroic legacies of Hellenism and like a young Leonidas he shouted to his would-be executioners "Molon Lave!"
The news went round the world. The mighty colonial army suffered another humiliating defeat that boosted the morale of the Greeks of Cyprus and became a symbol of revolutionaries everywhere. In the face of the fear of mobilization and reaction of the people, the colonialists feared even dead Afxentiou and therefore did not give his lifeless body to the family for burial, which has since been resting in the Prisoner's Memorial along with other fellow fighters, a sacred legacy for all of us, but also a constant reminder of our obligations.
Sixty-seven years after the sacrifice of Voxentius, our responsibility is heavy and our debt expensive. Our non-negotiable goal is liberation, the withdrawal of the occupying troops and the reunification of our homeland, without guarantors and foreign "protectors". And this is my vision for the realization of which I will spare no effort and sacrifice.
We must free our country from the abomination of the Turkish occupation that has been going on for 50 years. We have an obligation to work with all the strength of our souls to deliver our country free to the new generation, to give our children the opportunity to live and create in conditions of security, prosperity and well-being. This is also my promise before you today: I will exhaust every effort to create the conditions for the resumption of negotiations, for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the agreed framework and the principles and values of the European Union (EU).
In a few days the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General is expected to return to Cyprus, whose mission we have not only succeeded in convincing her of our determination and political will, but also support with all the means at our disposal. We are ready for negotiations even tomorrow; we are well aware of the objectives, the aspirations and what is at stake. We are also well aware of the difficulties, challenges and problems as a result of the Turkish attitude, which in fact does not allow the Cypriot people to live freely in their homeland. In their homeland which is a member state of the large European family, the EU. That is where our future belongs, that is where our destiny lies, leaving behind occupation, pain and uncertainty. The present state of affairs is not sustainable and certainly cannot be the foundation for building a stable and secure tomorrow for us and our children.
Twenty years after our country's accession to the EU, the Republic of Cyprus is now a reliable partner, actively participating in European affairs and fully committed to the reunification and resolution of the Cyprus problem, which will guarantee fundamental rights and be compatible with European principles and values.
With assertive realism, methodicalness and self-confidence, in this hour of national memory we must chart our course, united and strong, drawing lessons from Afxentios and the rest of our sacrificial fighters. We owe it to these unrepeatable fighters, to the fighters of EOKA, to all those who participated in the most heroic and purest struggle of this land. We owe a debt to their sacrifice.
Eternal memory of EOKA's Deputy Chief Gregory Afxentiou.
(PM/NYAN/GS)
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