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- Ελληνικά
It is with feelings of awe and national pride that we pay today the due tribute to the chosen son of our homeland, Sotiris Tsagaris, who, with absolute faith in the ideals of freedom and democracy, fell fighting for the defence of his homeland.
Today we commemorate with Sotiris all the heroes of our homeland, who remained faithful to the timeless values of independence and justice, and with self-denial were present in the struggles to preserve the ideals, principles and history of our country.
Born in 1925 in the village of Pelendri, Limassol District, Sotiris Tsagkaris, son of the large family of Panagi and Marina, having completed his education at the Primary School of Pelendri, worked as a cabinetmaker in his beloved village.
Together with his eight brothers and sisters, they were nurtured as young children with the Greek-Christian ideals, values and principles of their homeland. That is why when the national liberation struggle of EOKA began in 1955, Sotiris and his brothers could not turn a deaf ear to the call of the homeland.
At the beginning of the struggle, Sotiris joined EOKA and cooperated with the guerrillas of the region as a liaison, a transporter of war material and a caterer in the mountain hideouts.
On 25 January 1957, Stylianos Lenas led his group to the village of Gerasa to avoid capture during a large-scale search conducted by the British in his area. The men of the group initially stayed in galleries used by shepherds for paddocks. Stylianos Lenas together with Panagiotis Aristideou engaged in the construction of a hiding place in a water hole between the villages of Potamitissa and Pelendri, with the aim of bringing the guerrillas back to their sector, in a place unknown to the traitors.
On 17 February 1957, Lenas was ambushed by the English a short distance from the hole and was captured, badly wounded. Aristideou, sensing the existence of an army in the area, using Lena's gun, managed, with great precaution, to break the cordon of the English soldiers and head towards Pelendri, where he met Sotiris Tsagaris.
They then set off together to meet the other rebels, who had moved from the galleries to another place. On their way they ran into an English ambush outside Pelendri. The British soldiers opened fire on them and Sotiris Tsagaris was killed. Aristeidou discharged Lena's gun against the soldiers and when the firing ceased, he managed to walk away badly wounded.
Compatriots,
Remembering today the hero Sotiris Tsagaris, we bow reverently before the greatness of the sacrifice of him and his fellow soldiers, heroes who indelibly engraved their names on the most intimate pages of our history.
The Community of Pelendri declared a thunderous presence in all the calls of the homeland for the defence of democracy and territorial integrity. After the sacrifice and struggle of Sotiris Tsagaris, four more lads of the Community sacrificed their lives in that black summer of 1974. Antonis Antoniou, Nikos Karasamanis and Giannakis Ioannou fell fighting, while Kyriakos Frantzis remains missing to this day. We are grateful to them and pay tribute to them.
Sotiris Tsagaris and the other heroes understood the struggle for the assertion of self-determination and national independence as an imperative duty and a sacred obligation. Their bravery and heroism exemplify the debt we all owe to our homeland.
A debt which requires us to continue our struggle, by every available peaceful means and in a spirit of unity, for the resolution of the Cyprus issue and the reunification of our homeland.
Unfortunately, for 47 years, the entire people of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins, have been experiencing the results of the Turkish invasion and continued occupation of more than 36% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. For more than 47 years, we have been experiencing the effects of the demographic alteration consciously and purposefully promoted by the Turkish side. For more than 47 years, parents have been passing away without knowing the fate of their loved ones who remain missing. For more than 47 years, we have witnessed the brutal confiscation of our cultural and religious property in the occupied territories.
Despite the political will and determination shown by the President of the Republic, with the sole aim of achieving a workable and viable solution, we are still faced with the Turkish intransigent attitude, which does not allow the resumption of dialogue on the basis of a solution that has already been agreed.
An attitude that violates every principle of European and international law and puts obstacles in the way of the reunification of our country and the creation of conditions for progress and prosperity, in full compliance with European principles and ideals and respect for the human rights of all legitimate citizens of the country.
Ignoring the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and making excessive claims, Turkey persists in its long-standing objective of creating two independent states, aiming to perpetuate the presence of occupation troops and anachronistic guarantees, as well as full control over the Turkish Cypriot community.
An intransigence that is reflected in Turkey's illegal actions that call into question the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus over its territory and maritime zones, by violating the protection status of the enclosed city of Famagusta in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite the challenges we face, the President of the Republic and the Greek Cypriot side are not giving up the struggle, using the path of diplomacy and the synergies that Cyprus has developed with other states, until the restoration of human rights and conditions of peace and prosperity for all the Cypriot people are achieved.
We owe it to those who fought for the freedom of our homeland to exhaust every effort for the emergence of Cyprus as a modern state of peaceful coexistence, with full respect for the human rights of all Cypriots.
The consolidation of a sovereign and independent state, free from the dependencies of third parties, and the safeguarding of the natural and national survival of Cypriot Hellenism are the greatest honour for Sotiris Tsagaris and the heroes of our National Liberation Struggle.
May his memory be eternal.
(NKY)
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