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- Ελληνικά
"Memory hurts wherever you touch it", the great Greek Nobel laureate George Seferis once said.
Yet, however painful the memories, however traumatic the recollection of the horrific events that marked the history of Cyprus that tragic summer of 1974, we are obliged to bring them back to mind. For history, as Cicero notes, is a light of truth, a witness of the times and, above all, a teacher of life.
Fellow countrymen and women,
As we recall the martyrdom of July and August 1974, we remember the tragedy, the betrayal, the invasion, the occupation, the violent partition, the colonization, the refugees, the missing, the trapped, the desecration of our cultural heritage, our sacred and holy places.
Months marked by betrayal and crime, marked by death and refugeeism. These days the whole of Cyprus is in mourning. It mourns, remembers and honours its heroes, its children, its young people. The heroes who ran to defend it from the onslaught of Attila the Terrible. The young people who, unarmed, unarmed and betrayed, tried to prevent destruction. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the betrayal was so great that nothing could stop the disaster.
The door to our long-suffering island was opened by the fascist treasonous coup d'état of the Athenian Junta and EOKA II. On the morning of the fateful Monday 15 July, the junta of Ioannidis became the means of serving foreign interests and executed the coup against the legitimate government of Archbishop Makarios. To invade, to kill, to rape, to rape, to destroy, and to refugee. Thousands were killed, while some 180,000 Greek Cypriots living in the northern part of our country were forcibly expelled from their homes and properties and became refugees in their own country. Another 20,000 Greek Cypriots who had been trapped in the occupied areas in 1974 were gradually forced, through intimidation and deprivation of their basic human rights, to leave their homes and find refuge in the area controlled by our government.
Many knew and warned. But in vain. Unfortunately, the few brought disaster.
"It is hard to believe that the sea of Kyrenia brought them to us", wrote Kostas Montis. But the beloved sea of Kyrenia did not bring them to us. They were brought to us by the modern nightmares who exploited the weeds of discord, fanaticism and polarization that we allowed to rise among us after the independence of our country.
Friends,
Today, we remember and honour those who gave their lives for democracy and freedom.
Today, we remember and honour those who gave their lives for democracy and freedom. We remember those who fell fighting against the Turkish invasion.
We pay tribute to our compatriots who stood up against the junta and EOKA B.
We remember and honour those who did not compromise with the dictatorship.
We remember and honour those who did not compromise with the dictatorship.
We remember and honor those who put their own lives in the way of the destabilization and the anomaly that aimed at the dissolution of the constitutional and democratic fabric and the overthrow of the elected President Archbishop Makarios.
We express our immense respect and gratitude to the heroic Resistance fighters who fought and sacrificed for a free homeland.
This day is dedicated to them. To the people who put forward their chests and their souls against the Turkish conqueror and defended to the end the values and ideals of an entire people.
To all those who did not count numbers and armaments and were fully aware of their actions and were at the forefront of the resistance and fought for the dignity of the nation, in a struggle that was betrayed.
Taking the opportunity given to me today, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to both the Association of Democratic Resistance Fighters of Nicosia and the Resistance Fighters' Registry Committee for their enduring efforts to keep the memories alive. We owe you our immense gratitude.
Compatriots,
Half a century has passed since the Turkish invasion of our homeland. 50 years of occupation, 50 years of slavery, 50 years of non-negotiable struggle for final vindication. For a viable and workable solution to the Cyprus problem which will truly reunite our homeland without asterisks and footnotes. For a solution that will allow our homeland to live freely, free from foreign intrusions, something it has been striving for all along. A solution of a bizonal bicommunal federation as outlined in the United Nations resolutions.
We remain committed to achieving a solution for an independent and truly sovereign state, free from any anachronistic guarantees and the presence of occupying troops. Nothing less.
Our side, through the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness and determination to return to the negotiating table. However, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side are hampering the President's continued and sincere efforts. The demand for sovereign equality, which in fact constitutes a two-state solution, cannot be accepted.
The intransigent attitude of the Turkish side, however, will not deter us. Our determination for the liberation of our homeland remains unwavering. We will continue to devote every ounce of our strength to building a Cyprus that will be a symbol of peace, stability and progress in the region.
We owe it to those who sacrificed for a free homeland. To those who fell for altars and hearths. To those who guarded Thermopylae fighting for a truly free homeland.
Eternal be the memory of our heroes and fallen compatriots. May our hope be unquenched and our struggle be determined to the end.
"This thirst will not be quenched, this battle will not cease
A thousand years may pass, but we will not die slaves".
(DK)
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