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- Ελληνικά
Defence Minister Michalis Yiorgallas delivered a speech at the unveiling of the Memorial to the Fallen and Missing of the community of Xylofagou, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr.Nicos Christodoulides. The Minister conveyed the President's thanks for the honourable invitation to perform the unveiling ceremony, who, due to his participation in the Egyptian Summit, was unable to attend.
"With immense emotion and deepest respect, we have gathered here at Heroes' Square in the heroic village of Xylofagou, to unveil the Monument to the Fallen and Missing of the community and to pay due respect to the worthy heroic champions of the freedom of our homeland who originated from Xylofagou.
To those, who with proverbial self-denial and determination turned to the call of the homeland and carried out to the fullest, to the end, the mission of defending the homeland, offering what was most precious to them, their own lives as a sacrifice on the altar of the freedom of the homeland.
Today, in a course of historical retrospection, we mentally return to the glorious yet dark pages of our past.
We witness history in those gloomy, dark days of the modern period of our homeland, when foreign invaders and enemies of our homeland attempted to dismantle and destroy the newly established Cypriot state and abolish independence.
We understand that during this dangerous ordeal of our homeland, the only hope that emerged as a ray of light was the courage, determination, heroism and self-sacrifice of the people of Cyprus.
Those who manage to free themselves from the "I" and sacrifice themselves for the "we".
And today our country, which has suffered many trials through the passage of time, needs this "we" more than anything else.
Our country today needs these agile people, who in critical times, manage to stand up and rise to the occasion.
The community of Xylofagos can be proud of several such fighters, the first of which are those we honor today.
Fighters who were self-willed in their decision to put their duty to their homeland above all else, as an end in itself, a goal and a top priority.
They felt it as a sacred duty and obligation to the land that gave birth to them.
And this, precisely, is the common trait of every hero.
The possibility of going beyond the simple performance of duty.
The hero goes beyond the simple duty.
He proceeds to perform this further step towards the fulfillment of his mission.
A further step that places a hero among the deltoids of history
Ladies and gentlemen,
The events of Tilliria in August 1964, with the ultimate goal of realizing Ankara's long-standing plan to abolish the newly established Republic of Cyprus and the de facto partition of the island, were in fact the first pre-planned Turkish military invasion of Cyprus.
Today we honour two spirited young men of the community, Michalakis Vrahimis and Nikos Theofanous.
Both of them defied danger and fought with vigour, heroism and self-denial in the battles of Mansoura.
On 8 August 1964 they offered their lives as a libation on the altar of honour and duty.
On 8 August 1964 they offered their lives as a libation on the altar of honour and duty.
On 8 August 1964 they offered their lives as a libation on the altar of honour and duty.
The crucial events of 1963-64 were followed by a gloomy decade, during which the climate of civil strife and underground dark processes and machinations led to the nightmarish coup and betrayal of 15 July 1974 and the collapse of the Republic.
Five days later, on 20 July 1974, Turkey provocatively and brutally invaded Cyprus.
Its dichotomous plans, which had been averted with blood and pain a decade earlier, once again wounded the Cypriot land.
We commemorate today Andreas Demetriou Katziis, Nikos Andreou Katziis, Antonis Gerasimou, Christos Papasias, and Petros Loizou, who fell heroically fighting in the area of Agios Pavlos on 14 August 1974.
We also honour Frixos Panayiotou, Loizos Christou, Giorgallis Giorgallis, Kyriakos Tziyapra and Stavros Mousullou, who sacrificed themselves for altars and hearths, defending the supreme good of freedom and justice.
We place our crowns of honour and gratitude to Deacon Basil Yanakka, who, on 15 August 1974, was abducted from the church of the community of Galatea in the province of Karpasia and until 2018, was included in the list of missing persons, where his remains were found and identified.
Another young man, Efthimios Efthimios, was mortally wounded while serving his National Guard service in September 1975.
The community's fallen are completed by Charalambos Charalambous. The eldest son of the large family of Tasos and Panagiota Charalambous, who was cowardly murdered in May 1988 while serving his military service at an outpost of the 291 Infantry Battalion, in the area of Athienou.
On the morning of 28 May 1988, a Turkish armed soldier illegally and unprovoked entered Kyriakos Lysander's home and took the whole family hostage. At some point the hostages escaped his attention and managed to get out of the house, calling for help in fear.
Charalambos, who was on duty at an adjacent outpost, immediately went to help and was shot by the Turkish soldier, who shot him indiscriminately.
Together with the martyrs of the community, we honor and pray to the Most High for the determination of the fate of our missing brothers Anastasis Karatzias, Theophanis Theofanous and Stavros Stavrou, whose traces were lost in the bleak summer of 1974, in the fire of war.
Respected relatives of the fallen and missing,
From today, the heroes of Xylofagos, unscathed and whole, will be here.All of us, passing in front of the monument, will recall the undeniable and self-evident, but often forgotten and marginalized verses of Kostis Palamas [CODE][I]"[...] our homeland is one and it is everywhere we go [...][/I][I]The human soul cannot live without a homeland[/I][I]."[/I]The reopening of the open wounds of Cyprus brings to life the pain and suffering in our souls.
But at the same time it strengthens and steels our faith and will to continue our struggle for liberation and the restoration of law and legitimacy in our semi-occupied homeland.
"Of men's good deeds, deeds done, deeds and declarations of honour", Thucydides submits to us in Pericles' famous Epitaph speech to the Athenian citizens.
From the depths of history, the speech of the great Greek politician and general submits to us the obvious.
We owe it to those who have shown their bravery by their deeds to honour them.
We have, therefore, a sacred duty and a supreme obligation to continue to fight in practice for a better tomorrow, for a free and reunited homeland.
We have, therefore, a sacred duty and a supreme obligation to continue to fight in practice for a better tomorrow, for a free and reunited homeland.
In this context we are working, on the basis of a concrete plan, to make it possible to break the deadlock and resume dialogue and talks.
An honest and sincere dialogue that will lead us to a viable and workable solution.
Despite all the difficulties, despite all the problems, despite all the tragic developments in our region, we are optimistic that we will achieve our goal.
This will be the best tribute to those whose actions and unsurpassed sacrifice have shown us the path of morality, loyalty and struggle.
Their selfless choice to defend our country to the utmost is a beacon for the continuation of our own efforts.
May the memory of all the heroically fallen of the community of Xylofagos be eternal.
May the Almighty help to determine the fate of all our missing persons.
Honor and glory to our heroes
Thank you."
(PS)
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