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It is with feelings of national pride, imperative duty and historical responsibility that we gathered today at the Holy Church of St. Epiphanios in Lympia to pay our due tribute to Michael Olympios, who, remaining faithful to the timeless values of freedom and justice, showed unique and exemplary self-denial in defence of his native land, history, struggles, principles and ideals.
Guided by our national and religious duty, we are gathered here today to reflect on the significance of dear Michael's self-denial and overall course and to learn lessons from his struggle.
We pay tribute and gratitude today to a Man who with unwavering courage and mental strength defended the ideals of the people. A man of multifaceted action, who was among the first to join EOKA and together with other compatriots formed the first task force in Lybia.
During the liberation struggle, namely in March 1957, Michalis Olympios was arrested by the British colonialists and transferred to the interrogation centre of Omorphita, where he was brutally abused for 18 days. Despite the inhuman abuse he suffered, Michael remained faithful to his oath of silence. As a result of the daily torture, the bones of his right hand palm were severely fractured.
As expected, the horrific torture and lack of treatment led to serious problems and many difficulties. Despite the suffering, hardship and pain, his will and fighting spirit remained steadfast until the end of the EOKA struggle. With the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and as a result of the torture by the colonialists, a great Calvary began for Michalis Olympios, which would end after ten long years of pain and self-sacrifice.
Despite the continuous treatments, his health condition deteriorated, resulting in the disuse of his right palm. So on the recommendation of his doctors, Michalis underwent a number of surgeries in Cyprus, Greece and Germany. The State, as the minimum it could offer him, took care of his treatment, both abroad and in Cyprus. The situation, unfortunately, developed badly, first with the amputation of his right arm and then with its further deterioration which resulted in the fatality on 15 February 1969. Michael Olympios was then only 32 years old.
Up to the last moment on his bed of pain, where he struggled between life and death, he gave his last advice and message: "Patience, Faith and Love for the Homeland."
All of us, reverent pilgrims, have gathered here today, in this holy place, to light the candle of our soul from the flame of Michael Olympios' heroism. To realize the magnitude of our debt, the extent and weight of our responsibility. In these difficult times, and facing multiple challenges, what is required, what the Cypriot people expect from all of us, is prudence, unanimity and determination. Only in this way can we manage to meet the multi-layered challenges of the times and fight, doing everything possible on our part to achieve the liberation of our homeland, its freedom from Turkish occupation and the reunification of our country.
Undoubtedly, in this difficult struggle we need above all to have unity and unanimity. In order to achieve the end of the occupation and the reunification of our country without occupying troops and dividing lines, to create conditions for peace and to create the conditions for a promising future, it is necessary, possibly today as never before, to be united. We must, with full respect for any different views and different approaches, keep the level of dialogue high, without name-calling and without aphorisms.
By always doing what our duty dictates, and despite the difficulties and challenges, we do not turn away from the effort to achieve a solution that will create meaningful prospects for our country and ensure that each and every citizen can live in conditions of security, prosperity and peaceful coexistence and mutual respect.
Guided by the struggles of the past and the lessons learned from them, we declare unequivocally that we do not accept occupation. Our concern and anxiety are transformed into a driving force that leads us to a clear will to continue the effort for the reunification of our homeland.
The present unacceptable state of affairs does not allow any citizen of this country to enjoy the rights, freedoms and level of prosperity that all other citizens of Europe consider indisputable and acquired. On the contrary, the unacceptable status quo is, among other things, a permanent source of disorder and insecurity and should in no way be a source of complacency. For us, there is no other option, for us there is no other way but to end the occupation, reunite our country and finally bring peace to our land. Our goal and aspiration is, through a meaningful dialogue, which we wish to resume, to hand over to future generations a homeland without occupying troops, without foreign guarantees, reunited, modern and European.
And it is in this very context that we believe that the prominent and active involvement of the EU, both in breaking the current deadlock and during the negotiations, is imperative, and it is in this direction that we have been working from day one of our administration.
We continue to strive to end the current unacceptable state of affairs and reunite our country with the same tenacity, learning first and foremost from our history. Always, however, within the framework of realism and determination. This will be the best memorial offering we can make to all those who participated in the struggles of Cypriot Hellenism.
(PM/MB)
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