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- Ελληνικά
It is my honour to represent the President of the Republic Mr. Nikos Christodoulides at this magnificent commemorative event for the anniversary of April 1, 1955, which takes place every year in the proud community of Kyperounda. Unfortunately, the President of the Republic, due to exceptional commitments, was unable to attend. I would like to express his gratitude for the invitation and convey his greetings to the organisers and the distinguished guests. On his behalf, allow me to thank the Kyperounda Thoi, which every year, maintains the reins of the anniversary celebrations of 1 April in the countryside, connecting in this symbolic way the whole of Cyprus with the places where the fighters of EOKA were raised, braved, acted as guerrillas and sacrificed for their homeland.
A few days ago, Hellenes everywhere, along with the great feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, celebrated with respect and due pomp the anniversary of the National Revolt of 1821, which offered the Greek people, enslaved for four centuries, the longed-for freedom and the recognition of Greece as an independent state.
A century after the Greek epoch and the "Freedom or Death" proclaimed by our brothers in the metropolitan area, the legend of the Nation emerged and revived from the bowels of the Cypriot land, in our towns and forgotten villages, through the desire and the unquenchable desire of the youth of Cyprus for freedom.
The anniversaries of 25 March and 1 April are milestones of paramount importance in the recent and modern history of Hellenism and at the same time a guiding beacon for all of us and future generations.
In 1955, slave Cyprus, persistently seeking freedom from tyrannical regimes and subjugation, found itself humming the sweet lyrics of the anthem of the 21st century and became intoxicated with the immortal song of Greek valour, thundering "Whoever dies today, dies a thousand times!"
The heroic and selfless attitude of the fighters of EOKA, the high spirit and the mood with which they entered the struggle highlighted the greatness of the Greek soul and reiterated the epic written by their ancestors in 1821. They took the sacred oath of the Organization for "shaking off the English yoke" and partook of the sacrosanct mysteries, ready as never before to offer what they held most sacred, their very lives, as a sacrifice in the effort to conquer the coveted and elusive freedom "n the marble threshing floors" of honor.
The struggle of EOKA was nothing other than the need of an oppressed people to breathe the air of freedom, but also the age-old desire for union with the national body.
It is the historical continuation of earlier movements and declarations.
It is the historical continuation of earlier movements and declarations. Such as that of the Cypriot hierarchs and primates, who in 1821, fleeing the massacres of the Turks, fled to Rome, declaring on 6 December that "[...] together with our other Greek brothers, we want to strive for the freedom of our peaceful island of Cyprus, once a long, but already a triple island...".[/I]
It is the historical continuation of the three, almost simultaneous, uprisings of 1833, in Larnaca with the Cypriot Philhellene Nikolaos Theseus, in Yialousa and in Paphos.
It is the historical continuation of the popular uprising of October 1831 and the almost universal claim of the people for Union with Greece, as expressed in the 1950 referendum.
Greeks,
69 years have passed since the dawn of April 1, 1955. When the Greeks of Cyprus, without any preparation and without any organizational structures or armed units, dared to raise their heads and take up arms to rise up and claim the longed-for freedom and independence.
They abandoned their families and everyday life, their classrooms, their teachers and their classmates and headed for the remote hillsides of the Cypriot land.
They left their families and everyday life, their classrooms, their teachers and their classmates and headed for the remote hillsides of the Cypriot land.
Today we honour the heroism of all those fighters, which, emerging from the values and ideals of the glorious Greek past, prompted them to stand up and resist fiercely against a superior opponent, ultimately achieving the sacred goal of the Struggle.
To fight and sacrifice for freedom and justice.
To prove that one's selflessness and unadulterated patriotism outweighs any personal gain.
The declaration of the EOKA's Liberation Struggle spread like a smoldering flame from end to end in the land of Cyprus. It is this same flame, almost seven decades later, that we have just welcomed from the Prisoner's Memorials - the Holy of Holies of our homeland - from the Monuments of the Fallen of the EOKA Struggle and from the places of sacrifice of the heroes of the region.
It reminds us of the "unanimous and fearless" decision of our ancestors not to accept the "yoke of slavery".
"[...] Cities, comas, villages destroyed, ruins, deserted. And this remains only in the long-suffering and wonderful place, the archaic character of its governors, and their determination, unanimous and fearless, never to suffer the Turkish yoke, nor any other foreign yoke whatsoever [...]",
wrote in a note to the Great Powers, a century ago, the first governor of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias.
"Those who feel the copper hand
heavy of fear,
the yoke of slavery, let them have it;" [/I] the Zakynthian poet Andreas Kalvos
"freedom needs virtue and courage [...]".
Three words that for centuries have defined and guided the fate of the Greeks.
And they remind us that freedom, as the supreme human good, is not given away willy-nilly. On the contrary, it is acquired through determination, struggle, courage, prudence, altruism, deprivation and sacrifice.
For this very reason we feel great pride every time we are in the holy land of mountainous Cyprus. Scattered with hideouts, shelters, hidden paths and hiding places, full of glorious stories, exploits and feats of the fighters of our homeland.
Every mountain peak and mountainside, every inch of the Troodos is identified with persons and events of Cypriot history.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Since the descent of the English colonialists to Cyprus in 1878, the Greek Cypriots have never stopped expecting and waiting for freedom.
And when the true intentions of the British policy became apparent early on and it became clear that their dream and desire would not be fulfilled, that the English were here to stay, breaking promises, imposing taxes, controlling education and implementing divisive policies, the Greek Cypriots took to the streets and demanded self-determination and union with Greece as strongly as they could.
The mass spontaneous militant demonstrations of the student youth, the active mobilizations of citizens, the display of English flags in schools and public buildings and the hoisting of the Greek flag in their place conveyed the pulse of EOKA all over the island.
Young people with passion, vision, love for the homeland, for Greece and for freedom rushed to join its ranks, spontaneously and enthusiastically.
Andreas Patsalidis, Alekos Konstantinou, Kostas Anaxagorou and Panagiotis Georgiadis were four of them. Four fighters who offered their flesh and blood to the chalice of history for the holy communion of the generation of the struggle and the future generations of Cyprus.
Panagiotis Georgiadis came from the village of Livadia in the Nicosia district. He was a member of the OXEN and from its ranks he joined the struggle from the very first period. At the beginning of the struggle he served as Digeni's liaison with Ethnarch Makarios under the pseudonym "Icarus" and was responsible for the guarding and distribution of arms in the Nicosia area. In October 1956, after being wanted by the British, he fled to the mountains, where he joined the guerrilla group of Stylianos Lena. After the arrest of Lena and the death of Dimitrakis Christodoulou in February 1957, he fled to Limassol and then returned to his village, where he engaged in the reorganization of the struggle in the area, which had suffered a blow due to treason. During the struggle he resided in Kurdali. He joined EOKA from the beginning and had shown a rich activity. He took part in ambushes with the hero Christos Tsiartas and also cooperated with local leaders of the Organization and with the guerrilla groups of the region. Together with his wife, who was also initiated into the Struggle, they hid weapons and ammunition and hosted rebels in their house, which they also used as a distribution centre in the sectors of the region.
Kostas Anaxagorou came from Spilia. After completing his education at the community's primary school, he worked at the Asbestos Mine. He was distinguished for his patriotism and his love for freedom. In the Struggle he took part in ambushes and missions, maintained hiding places for the concealment of explosives and weapons of the Organization and served, among other things, as a liaison between the groups in the area.
Alekos Konstantinou was born in Kakopetria, but resided with his mother in Famagusta. At the beginning of the struggle he joined an executive Famagusta group, whose meetings took place at his home. After his daring action of shooting at point-blank range an English investigator, after being pursued, he fled to the guerrilla and acted mainly together with Panagiotis Georgiades.
Fate brought the four young men together in the sector of the north-western district of Pitsilia. On 20 June 1958, one of the most tragic events of the Struggle took place in the house of Andreas Patsalidis.
While they were working on explosive devices, under unclear circumstances a powerful explosion occurred, which resulted in very serious damage to the house and the tragic death of the four fighters.
The pregnant wife of Andreas Patsalidi, Irini, and his sixteen-month-old daughter Maria, who were outside the house at the time of the explosion, were miraculously saved. Their shredded flesh and warm blood were placed in the chalice of history for us all to commune in the name of the freedom we are still searching for."
reads the commemorative plaque on the "Kugi" of EOKA, in the half-ruined house of Andreas Patsalidis, where the powerful explosion dismembered the four gentlemen.
The event shocked Cypriot society, which held mass demonstrations in the days after their deaths. The funeral of the four lads was held to the rapturous applause of their families and neighbours, who greeted their coffins with emotion.
They were buried with the honours and glory befitting heroes.
The holocaust in Kurdali, like other similar incidents of the Struggle, is a tragic yet glorious testimony to the life and action of the EOKA fighters.
It testifies to the extremely difficult conditions under which the Struggle was conducted, with the lack of war material and the need for makeshift improvised means, which the fighters constructed, putting themselves at great risk.
Most of them were simple people of the breadline, they were young men with visions and desires, who in a short time were forced to transform themselves into determined and fearless warriors.
Compatriots,
We declare ourselves proud of the fighters of our homeland, of all those who toiled, struggled and sacrificed for its freedom.
We declare ourselves proud of the fighters of our homeland, of all those who toiled, struggled and sacrificed for its freedom.
At the same time, we feel the weight of responsibility towards their sacrifice and their struggles.
As a State, we are working daily, persistently and painstakingly to achieve a way out of the deadlock, to which the Turkish side has brought us, and to resume the talks.
We are fighting with all our strengths, having as our ally international law, the European acquis and UN resolutions, for freedom from occupation and Turkish troops, for the liberation and reunification of our homeland.
In conclusion, I particularly congratulate the organizers of this annual anniversary event, the Thoi Kyperounda, which over time, with various actions, makes every possible effort to keep the historical memory unquenched.
Your work is valuable and I hope that you will continue to pass on the fighting spirit and the courage of the fighters of our country to many generations to come.
Thank you.
(AF/EP)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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