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- Ελληνικά
Plenary Session, 15 July 2024
PRESIDENT:
Your Excellency Mr. President of the Republic of Cyprus,
Your Beatitude Archbishop of New Justinian and All Cyprus,
Honourable Ladies and Honourable Gentlemen, Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Honorable Ambassador of Greece,
Honorable President and Members of the Warriors' Association of 1974,
Dear Mr. President of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of the Captured and Missing,
Honourable Madam President of the Panhellenic Committee of Parents and Relatives of Captured and Missing Persons of the Cyprus Tragedy,
Honourable Ladies Councillors and Honourable Members of Parliament,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I call upon all of you to observe a one-minute silence in memory of the heroes and martyrs of our country who sacrificed for democracy and freedom.
(Observance of one-minute silence)
Eternal remembrance!
Your Excellency Mr. Speaker,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The House of Representatives is meeting today in special plenary session to condemn the treasonous coup of 15 July 1974 and the barbaric Turkish invasion of 20 July 1974, but also to pay tribute to all those who sacrificed their lives to defend the freedom, legitimacy and constitutional order of the Republic of Cyprus.
How, really, a moment of division in the history of a country... It can bring half a century of occupation, refugeeism, uprooting, suffering. How a tragic choice, a deviation from democratic values and institutions, can wreak havoc and destruction. To deliver half a country into the barbaric and bloody hands of Attila. To blacken mothers, to orphan children, to leave hundreds of dead and missing.
That is why we are here today... With a heavy soul and a heavy memory... Because we are not allowed to forget. We must not allow discord and division to prevail again. We are here to ensure that such mistakes are not allowed to be repeated. After all, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it". (Winston Churchill)
This is our mission: To right the wrong, to serve our people. To defend democracy with all our might. That must be our only guidepost. Unity, unity and prudence are our shield. Only together can we defend our country, our dignity. Only then can we have a future, give hope to our children. Let today be a day of condemnation of the coup and the invasion, an awakening of the collective memory and a serious reflection on the future of our country.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today marks the end of 50 years... 15 July 2024 and Cyprus woke up again this year with the deafening sound of sirens. Carrying in its "body" and memory the open wounds left by the treacherous coup of the junta of the colonels and its collaborators. This leads us to the worst crime committed in the history of our country, the Attila's invasion of our homeland, a plan that Turkey has been waiting for years in order to implement its illegal and dichotomous plans.
With the Attila invasion, under the pretext of a "peace operation" to supposedly restore constitutional order, Turkey violated and continues to violate every rule of international legitimacy, including the United Nations Charter, by placing and maintaining under illegal military occupation more than 36% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state.
In the tragic account of the Turkish invasion: the thousands of martyrs and civilians killed, the displaced people who stuffed their whole lives and their dreams into a suitcase... Our missing persons, whose families have been experiencing the most shocking drama for 50 years, that of years of uncertainty and unfinished business. Parents who left in grief, clutching a photograph in their arms for half a century, husbands, brothers and sisters, children who pinned their hopes on the sad news of the CMP, only to experience another unspeakable injustice, that of delayed mourning and a funeral by convention.
And then... those who refused to be uprooted from their soil. Now that is a fortitude of soul... To live imprisoned in your own place, to be deprived of basic freedoms, to have settled for terror in your daily life, to breathe the sky and the sea of the land that gave birth to you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today in a world full of challenges that is constantly changing and nothing can be taken for granted, we have a great need to hold on to ideals and values. We need to honour and recognise the contribution of those who have sacrificed for our country, because in doing so we strengthen our sense of responsibility towards the fundamental principles we are called upon to uphold.
We honour all those who fell in defence of legitimacy and democracy, we honour those who put up a heroic resistance to Attila and put their bodies on the line in an unequal battle, defending the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. We honour all these women, the silent heroines, who suffered and martyred at the hands of the conqueror.
I also feel the need to refer specifically to our veterans of the National Guard and the ELDYK who were thrown into the ravages of war and faithfully fought for universal human values, justice, freedom and our national ideals. The state owes them, we all owe them eternal gratitude. They are our shining examples where everything seems to be shaking. Institutions, values, standards.
Friends,
For 50 consecutive years, we have watched Turkey implement a systematic policy of colonization of the occupied part of Cyprus, changing the geographical place names and destroying monuments of cultural and ecclesiastical heritage that bear witness to the long history and identity of our homeland. The ultimate goal is to alter the demographic character and to eliminate every Greek and Christian element from our occupied land.
Systematically and daily, Ankara is creating new achievements on the ground, attempting in particular to overturn the status quo in the enclosed area of Famagusta and in the buffer zone.
Systematically and daily, Ankara is creating new achievements on the ground, attempting in particular to overturn the status quo in the enclosed area of Famagusta and in the buffer zone. In an organised and methodical manner, with continuous provocative actions, it is challenging the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, both in the EEZ and in other areas. And the insistence of the occupation leader and Ankara on the two-state rhetoric is the culmination of Turkish intransigence. The proclamation of the term on sovereign equality dynamizes the prospect of resuming substantive negotiations, since it is vertically and directly at odds with the agreed framework and UN Security Council resolutions.
The appointment last January of the UN Secretary General's personal envoy is a positive step.
The appointment of the UN Secretary General's personal envoy is a positive step. Pending the decisions of the Secretary-General following the delivery of the report of Ms. Olgin, we must all show with determination and conviction that we are ready to make a constructive contribution to breaking the current deadlock and resuming the negotiations. The dangers that lurk for our country and our people through the perpetuation of the stalemate and the prolonged impasse must be fully understood and appreciated by all.
Particularly if the present initiative of the UN Secretary General to resume meaningful negotiations within the framework set by the resolutions and parameters of the Security Council is not successful. In such an eventuality, it is crucial that our side's sincere and positive stance be officially recorded, regardless of whatever stance Turkey ultimately chooses to take. The latter will have to take responsibility for the impasse accordingly. Otherwise, it is very likely that the international actor will approach the position that it is no longer possible to find a solution on the basis of the IHL with Political Equality. And that other options for settling the problem should be considered. A possibility that will bring negative consequences for our national issue. We should therefore leave no room for doubt about our intentions and determination. We must show our readiness with initiatives, suggestions, proposals and counter-proposals.
As the House of Representatives, fully aware of our mission and duty, we unequivocally declare our will and determination to make full use of the possibilities offered to us by parliamentary diplomacy. In this context, I note the recent adoption of a resolution by the plenary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, entitled "Call for the return of the Varosha people to their rightful inhabitants", which makes clear reference to invasion and occupation. It is important that we succeeded in getting the Parliamentary Assembly to recognise the essence of the Cyprus problem and I thank colleagues for this. And this is how we will continue to work together and by consensus for the benefit of our country.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Fifty years of occupation is already too long. And we must realize that time does not work in our favor. At this critical juncture for the Cyprus problem, we cannot afford to hide behind procedures and obstacles. This is not the time to get caught in the vicious circle of old partisanship. We must find the way and the means to speak in modern and simple language to society, to address our citizens, especially our young people, in a transparent manner, to make them participants in the effort to resolve our national issue. People need to know what is at stake and what we have to face and manage. And this can only be done with clarity and full transparency. We need to create the conditions to go beyond. We must not allow extremism and populism to become a distraction. We need to dare to take the next step.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We must not deny the truth, however painful it may be. As Ms. Olgin stated, "The status quo has widened the distance and widened the lack of knowledge of each other, and it grows with each passing day. [...] Many people unfortunately seem to have resigned themselves to the position that the status quo cannot be changed."
It is not easy to change but it is not impossible. As long as we walk honestly and clearly towards our goal. With an understanding of our history as a compass for the future and with respect for the diversity of each community. To make our country, free and united, a model of stability for the wider Eastern Mediterranean region and a solid bridge of cultures, as the south-easternmost edge of the European Union.
Half a century does not mean that nothing changes (which is also evident in other otherwise frozen political conflicts), but that much will have to change. And we need to persevere and work harder today than ever before.
Division and division cannot be the future of this country and our people. At this critical moment, we must create perspective and hope. And herein lies the responsibility of each and every one of us. I personally believe that it is through cooperation and unity that we can achieve this, outside the climate of confrontation and counter-confrontation. And in every new step we take, let the shadows of the past grow smaller rather than larger. Only in this way can we inspire our young people to build together a bright and promising future for our country.
...Because only for this future can we work and only for this future can we hand over to future generations.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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