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- Ελληνικά
Venerable Priesthood,
Honoured Fighters and Fighters of EOKA,
Greeks and Greeks,
The collective memory of Cypriot Hellenism is constituted by events, persons, objects and places that, due to their importance, have marked the long historical course and development of this land, our homeland. The liberation struggle of EOKA, the struggle of 1955-59, which for almost 65 years has been feeding our collective memory with timeless lessons and teachings and the imperative not to forget, no one should forget, whose descendants we are.
Friends,
A heavy and inescapable debt has brought us today to this rough landmark of the EOKA struggle. It has brought us here so that those who lived as prisoners in the colonial concentration camps of 1955-59 may remember more vividly, so that all of us younger people may learn. In establishing the "Detention Centres", the British colonialists were following practices of previous years that were discredited by the international community. Practices that were discredited after the end of World War II, but which they chose to apply in Cyprus. More than 3,300 Greek Cypriots were locked up in them without trial, in many cases on mere suspicion.
In the Detention Centres in Kokkinotrimithia, Pyla, Pyroi, Pergamon, Mammari, Agirta, Polemi, the Central Prisons, Kyrenia Castle, Omorphita Police Station and other places, horrible and atrocious torture took place, acts of systematic and deliberate humiliation and oppression by the organs of the colonial regime, with the victims being people of our people from all walks of life, of different ages, from various fields of employment and with different levels of education: teenagers, young people, the elderly, farmers, petty professionals, teachers, lawyers, priests. In the place where we are today and in the other euphemistically named "Detention Centres" - literally hellholes - small and large, well-known and unknown pages of martyrdom of political prisoners and fighters of EOKA were written. All together, these stories make up a robust and shocking lesson in the superiority of mental fortitude over dynastic violence and brutality, a perpetual lesson that a free spirit and unfailing love for the homeland steel the soul to withstand the terrible pain of the body. Faith in our religion and the ideals of the Nation guided and encouraged the martyrs of the Detention Houses to endure and stand up to the expectations and demands of our homeland under occupation and colonial yoke.
In the more than three years of their operation, the Detention Centres of Kokkinotrimithia and the other concentration camps were transformed into beehives and hothouses of patriotic resistance, militant virtue, indefatigable spirit and conscious transcendence of the "I" for the sake of the "we". They were reasonably established in the collective consciousness of our people as signals and beacons of the wonderful liberation struggle of EOKA, as swimming pools of self-knowledge, patriotic rebaptism and uplifting.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The struggle of EOKA, being a "possession for ever" for Hellenism and humanity of light and freedom, encapsulates the universal and timeless standards of Hellenism. The popular uprising of April 1 was a renewing movement of historical cleansing and national rebirth, with its historical imprint and its moral signifier going beyond the boundaries of Cyprus and beyond the boundaries of Greece.
Through the modern history of Cypriot Hellenism, April 1, 1955 emerges as a top milestone.
Through the modern history of Cypriot Hellenism, April 1, 1955 emerges as a top milestone. This is because it expressed through acts of heroism, acts of self-denial and epic courage the desires, visions and rights of an oppressed people who were claiming the right to decide their own fate and future. Defying the overwhelming armed superiority of the conqueror, the liberation movement of EOKA demonstrated to the whole world a good, well-known in the history of the Greeks, achievement: An unshakeable belief in freedom, spiritedness and bravery on the field of struggle can neutralize the opponent's superiority in numbers and means.
Hellenism, my friends, through the alternation of great ups and downs, has survived through the centuries with its love for the homeland, the continuation of its linguistic identity, its religion and its cultural origins as its foundations. That is why it is our duty to honour and remember the events that have indelibly marked our course, proving every day, not only through such modest ceremonies, but through our actions, through our attitude to life, that we are self-aware, have a clear and stable orientation and are aware of our responsibility to act to ensure our collective survival.
It is our primary obligation and duty, and I am very happy to see our children, to speak to our children and grandchildren, to speak to the new generation of this land about EOKA, about the struggles and sacrifice of all those who gave what was most precious to them, their own lives, for a better Cyprus, for the Republic of Cyprus that we have today, which is a valuable shield and vehicle for our difficult journey. A deep and solid knowledge of our historical past is a prerequisite for demonstrating virtue and courage. And I want to anticipate all those who may have different views, to point out that this in no way contradicts our sincere aspiration for liberation, for reunification, for the resolution of the Cyprus problem, since the viability of a possible solution depends to a substantial degree on practical respect for the historical identity of each individual and not through self-abolition or the adoption of a neutral cultural identity.
Friends,
The bloody wounds of the Turkish invasion and continued occupation have been present for almost 50 years. Being here today in this room and in front of all of you who gave your lives for this country, I want to tell you in the language of my heart that I am fully aware of the debt I have undertaken to the Cypriot people to work to free our country from the suffering and burdens of the illegal Turkish occupation, which is a blatant anachronistic anomaly in every respect. What I can promise all of you and your colleagues who are no longer with us is that I will do everything humanly possible to curb Turkish intransigence and to resume efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework. This country and its people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, Latins and Maronites, deserve a better future and the current unacceptable state of affairs cannot be the future of our country. The Government and I as President of the Republic have a modern and enduring vision for the future of this tormented land. To reunite our country, our people, through a solution that will ensure that all legal residents of our country live in security, democracy, peace and prosperity as citizens of the European Union. We want to give the citizens of this country the opportunity to create and progress within such a framework and environment, creating hope and prospects for all.
In this spirit, I want to reiterate today my readiness to work constructively, away from sterile and endless procedures, away from communication games and blame game logic, in order to achieve the much-needed reunification of our country and its people. I am here, ladies and gentlemen, to take serious and bold decisions, without considering any political cost. At the same time, I also want to send a message in every direction that I am well aware of the limits of the honourable compromise we are seeking and I will not join in a settlement for the sake of a settlement, a solution that does not safeguard the vision I have mentioned and continues to make the European citizens of this country second-class citizens.
At the same time, ladies and gentlemen, I would like - because it is one of the lessons of the EOKA struggle - to use my presence today at this solemn ceremony to highlight the importance, not in words but in deeds, of having a strong and robust home front to achieve the goal of breaking the deadlock and resuming meaningful talks that will lead us to a settlement of the Cyprus problem. Assuring you that I will continue to work tirelessly in this direction, I express my confidence that all political forces in this country understand the importance of unity, not only, if you like, as our minimum obligation to the Cypriot people, but also as an important factor of strength both in the effort for the resumption of talks and for the resolution of the Cyprus problem. And in this effort we have the support of our large European family, the European Union, as well as the Greek Government and the Greek Prime Minister, whom I would like to thank today for the organization and the results of the first, I would say historic, Intergovernmental Conference that took place in Athens on Thursday and Friday.
Honoured fighters of EOKA,
Standing at one of the most emblematic landmarks of the magnificent struggle of 1955-59, let me pay tribute to those who offered their lives and fought from various fronts, contributing to the creation of the greatest epic in our modern history. As I greet with awe and emotion this unassuming but meaning-dense modest ceremony, I want to shake your hand with respect and immense gratitude on behalf of the State and say that those who share in the collective memory of this land are proud of all of you. I want to reiterate that without you, without your struggles, the Republic of Cyprus would not exist.
Friends,
In October 1957, the "Martin" of EOKA, the young lawyer, graduate of the University of London, Renos Lysiotis, who was in the Pyla Detention Centre as DP 743, wrote to an Athenian friend expressing the pulse of resistance and militancy and the visions of the blessed generation of 55-59. He wrote that: "The pain of prison has not extinguished hope, a smile still steams on the lips - however bitter. The body is imprisoned, but the soul is free. The head stands erect, proud, untamed, high. The strength of the soul, the fortitude, the fortitude, the faith, the conviction have never wavered. Someday, soon, the veil of gloom will be torn to let the light rise..."
As then, with the heroic epic of EOKA, so today "the veil of darkness will be torn to let the light rise", achieving our vision of ending the occupation, liberation and reunification of our homeland on the basis of the agreed framework, on the basis of the principles and values of the European Union.
Thank you very much for the honour you have done me. Bless you!
(PM/AF/KKK/MS)
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