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- Ελληνικά
It is a great honor for me and it is with feelings of awe and pride that I participate in tonight's event, here at the temporary headquarters of Anorthosis, to honor the struggles of Hellenism and the Association's contribution to our country and to Hellenism in general. In 1821, the Greeks, after 400 years of slavery, hardship, persecution, martyrdom, oppression and oppression, after many efforts and struggles in Greece and abroad, decided to undertake a more active struggle for freedom. The vision, efforts and sacrifices of King Feraios and other visionaries of freedom shake and enthrall the Greeks, strengthen their souls and push them to revolt.
With teachers, priests and monks, they keep the flame of faith and desire for freedom unquenched, learn Greek letters and Greek history and prepare for the Revolution.
With teachers, priests and monks, they keep the flame of faith and desire for freedom unquenched, learn Greek letters and Greek history and prepare for the Revolution. The Society of Friends is founded and the 25th of March 1821 becomes a milestone and reference point in the global struggle for freedom and freedom from all forms of slavery and oppression.
The Ottomans cannot contain the momentum and passion of the Greek revolutionaries. Theodoros Kolokotronis, Odysseus Androutsos, Athanasios Diakos, Ioannis Makriyannis, Konstantinos Kanaris, Georgios Karaiskakis, Markos Botsaris, Manto Mavrogenous, Nikitaras, Alexander Ypsilantis, Bouboulina and so many other fearless fighters wrote glorious pages in the history of Hellenism, and each and every one of them are in themselves whole chapters and examples of heroism and bravery for all of us. Cyprus, although due to its peculiarity and its distance from mainland Greece, is not part of the plans of the Revolution, nevertheless it reinforces the struggle by every means. In this context, the Society of Friends was in constant consultation with Archbishop Cyprian, and many Cypriot volunteers secretly left for Greece and fought alongside great chieftains. The Cypriot Phalanx, with its own flag, was renowned for its bravery and achievements.
Souli, Arkadi, Mesollogi, and Hani of Gravia moved Europeans and many Philhellenes took part in the struggles of the Greeks, even giving their lives. After many adventures, military and diplomatic, the Ottoman Empire collapses and is forced to capitulate. In 1827, Nafplio in the Peloponnese becomes the capital of the newly established Greek State and the National Assembly elects the able and inspiring leader Ioannis Kapodistrias as its first Governor.
The Greek state, despite all the difficulties and dependencies on the Great Powers, managed to prosper and expand its borders, becoming the Greece of three continents and five seas. In the course of its history, a great Greek figure of global importance, Eleftherios Venizelos, appears on the political scene. His decisive and timely choices broadened the boundaries of Greece and imbued the vision of the Great Idea.
The slogans and speeches of Eleftherios Venizelos inspired Greeks everywhere, such as the slogan "Anorthosis", which in 1911 inspired the Cypriot citizens of Varosha, then enslaved to the British yoke, and with which they titled their Association: "
Cyprus was then under English rule and saw its hopes for Freedom and Union with Mother Greece evaporate due to the intransigent attitude of the colonialists who considered the island of strategic importance for achieving their goals in the region. All this until 1 April 1955 and the beginning of the holiest, purest struggle of Cypriot Hellenism, EOKA, which marked the beginning of a new epic for our homeland. EOKA's vision of freedom was inspired by the epic of 1821. Almost all the heroes had nicknames of heroes of the Greek Revolution, and there was a strong feeling and belief that EOKA was in fact reviving 1821 in Cyprus. From the very first moment, thousands of young people ran to join the ranks of EOKA, the first of them being the members of the Music and Sports Association "ANORTHIS AMMOCHOSTOU". Blasts, explosions, demonstrations, arsons, arson, hideouts, sabotage, arrests, torture, holocausts and much more were now a daily occurrence in our country.
The British never believed that they could not subdue and control the militancy and stubbornness of the Greeks of Cyprus for freedom and union with Greece.
They hanged, brutally tortured, burned houses and fighters like torches, but they did not manage to limit the action and guerrilla warfare of the EOKA fighters. Messolonghi, Souli, Hani of Gravia and Arkadi are revived again in Cyprus. The barns of Liopetriou and Machairas hold the scepter of bravery. The Prisoner's Memories reveal the indomitable Greek soul and the unshakeable faith in its immortality. The Kokkinotrimithia Detention Centre, as another concentration camp, is yet another example of the shame of humanity and Christian Europe. The English are forced to make compromises and capitulation and the Republic of Cyprus is established, the most important thing we have to date.
ANORTHOSIS AMMOCHOSTOU did not fall short of any national imperative. From its foundation, it did not take long to show its dynamism and became a national refuge for many young men and women of Famagusta, who were nurtured in the ideals and values of Hellenism and Orthodoxy. The Association's distinctions were not only athletic, but also national. In this context, from very early on it became a target of the British and was subjected to their aggression, for example, in 1931 on the occasion of the preceding October Days, when it was closed due to the hoisting of the Greek flag on the building, and in 1958 when it was completely blown up on the charge of storing papers and weapons of members of EOKA.
A large part of the frame of heroes and fighters of 1955-59 belongs to the Anorthosians. Members of ANORTHOSION glorified the EOKA saga and rightfully bear the title of the most historical Association of Cyprus: Grigoris Afxentiou, Kyriakos Matsis, Antonis Papadopoulos, Andreas Gavriilides, Anastasis Economides, Pavlos Pavlakis, Panagiotis Toumazos and many others are just a few examples that brightened the history of the Association.
The participation of the members of Anorthosis in the national struggles was simply a natural continuation of the ethos that characterized them and the important national work that was carried out over time within Anorthosis with speeches, actions, anniversary events and much more. And I am very happy that this very important tradition for the Association continues.
The political goal of the struggle, the Union with Greece, may not have been achieved. The struggle, however, led to the end of the colonial yoke and the birth of the independent Republic of Cyprus, the most important thing we have to date.
The struggle of EOKA proved that the greatest lesson of history is that united we can achieve any goal. We must never let discord prevail over unadulterated love for our homeland, which has been under Turkish occupation for 50 years. Therefore, if it is something that we must preserve as the apple of our eye, if we really want to honour the struggle of 1821, the struggle of '55-'59, we must preserve unity and unity of spirit, so that we are united and strong, with absolute respect for any different approaches, in order to fight to liberate our land and reunite our homeland. After all, this is our sacred duty. The greatness of their soul, however, remains alive and they quickly regrouped and rebuilt Anorthosis and achieved great successes. In 1986, after the efforts of the then President of the Association Kyriakos Theocharous, to whom this hall is dedicated, Anorthosis Famagusta erected its refugee stadium, its temporary headquarters, also dedicated to a great uprising fighter of EOKA, Antonis Papadopoulos.
Without any exaggeration, there is no citizen in this place and not only in this place who does not recognize the historicity of the Anorthosis Famagusta Association and does not admire its more than a hundred years of action and contribution. Anorthosis is one of the greatest chapters in the historical and national events of our country and we are proud of its action. It has moulded young people in the ideals of our race and honoured our country with the blood and struggles of its members. At the same time, it remains an important factor in the sporting events of our country over time.
The President of the Cyprus Sports Organization is with us tonight so that, as part of the relevant procedures, we can proceed with the CIO to substantially assist in the work needed for the stadium of Anorthosis Famagusta. Because I want to be correct Anorthosis will be helped significantly along with the stadium of Nea Salamina and Ethnikos Ahna.
Our presence here tonight is not and should not be of symbolic importance to anyone. Our presence here tonight means a great deal. It honors the anniversary celebrations and the struggles of our ancestors for us to live today. At the same time, it also honours sport and the organised clubs, especially Anorthosis, and recognises the effort they make, among other things, to pass on to our young people the history and struggles of our people.
As a Government, as a State, following the example of our fighters, all those who sacrificed so that we could exist today, so that this country could exist, we are making tireless efforts to end the occupation, for the liberation and reunification of our country. We truly feel our responsibilities towards the heroes of 1821 and 1955-59 and we declare ourselves "present" in every challenge. Despite the difficulties, problems and challenges that are daily, we have managed to mobilize international interest in the first phase and with the appointment of the personal envoy to create a ray of hope, so that we can achieve the goal of resuming the talks. At the same time, we have made our country - without exaggeration and always within our capabilities, the capabilities of a small country - a point of reference as a factor for stability in the wider region and for the provision of humanitarian aid.
We are proceeding with concrete planning, with confidence and credibility, we know what we want to achieve and with steady steps and above all political stubbornness, without drumbeat and with effectiveness, I am sure that we will achieve our goal.
We have an obligation and a duty to tell our children and the new generation of the country about the struggle of EOKA, about the struggles and sacrifices of all those who gave their lives for a better Cyprus, for the Republic of Cyprus to exist today. Because it is precisely virtue and courage that requires a deep knowledge of our history. And knowledge first and foremost of yourself, that is, of our real history.
I saw posts yesterday criticizing me for this particular reference. We live in a democratic country, criticism is always welcome. Knowing our history, teaching our children our history, the EOKA struggle does not in any way work against the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem and reunify our country. Because the viability of any solution, which we will not stop pursuing, passes to a large extent through respect for the historical identity of each of us and not through self-abolition.
(PM/GC/EP)
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