-
.
- Ελληνικά
14 August 2024, South Nicosia-Idalia Municipality Amphitheatre
It is with feelings of deep emotion, honour and pride and with full awareness of the debt that I am here with you today, to honour and commemorate the fallen and the missing of Idali, Alambra, Lympion, Nissos, Pera Chorio and Potamia, who make up the new Municipality of South Nicosia. Half a century after the black summer of 1974 and sixty years after the events of 1964, we are here today to send a message of remembrance and honour and to express our gratitude to those who fell for faith and country, to those who were cowardly murdered by the occupiers and to those whose fate is still unknown.
We are here to reiterate our demand that fifty years of occupation is too long and that Turkey and the occupying regime should finally cooperate in such a way that the open wounds of the invasion are at least healed after a delay of several decades. For as time passes, the wounds deepen for the entire Cypriot Hellenism, proving that the traces of history neither fade nor are erased. Every story that remains untold is an open wound and we will not stop fighting for truth and return, to justify the struggle and sacrifice of all these people, but also the people who for half a century have been living in exile, all carrying the humanitarian wounds and implications of this tragedy.
Today we are here to honour the fallen and the missing who served to the fullest extent the saying of Thucydides in Pericles' Epitaph, "the free the free, the free the free the free". These people may have left us, but they offered and will continue to offer to future generations, in these difficult times, the definition of a happy, free and brave person.
The apartments of the South Municipality of Nicosia, as they are called after the implementation of the Local Government Reform, paid a heavy blood tax. This is evidenced by the large number of people to whom today's event is dedicated. The event is dedicated to 59 souls. To 59 people who sacrificed themselves so that we can live free today, even under the occupation of half of our country. 59 young men full of life, who, in response to the call to defend our homeland, neither cowed nor hesitated, declared themselves present. And they remain present to this day thanks to initiatives such as today's, but also in our hearts.
A large part of today's event is about the soldiers of the heroic 305 Infantry Battalion (AP). The Battalion that was based in Dali and was the beginning of the heroic march that would be followed by the reserve soldiers who on the day of the first invasion, July 20, 1974, rushed to enlist, feeling their duty to their country.
The heroes of the 305 TP fell fighting on the defense line of Mias Milia-Koutsoventi during the second phase of the Turkish invasion, exactly fifty years ago today, on August 14, 1974, when the bombardments of the Turkish invaders broke the defense line of the soldiers of the 305 Infantry Battalion.
Among them were the Alambrians, Michalis Georgiou, Stylianos Kyriakou, father of four children, Agathangelos Stavrou, Pantelis Nikiforou, Nikos Nikolaou, Andreas Savvas, Andreas H''Christodoulou and Sotiris Ioannou from Pomos, who married in Alambra, where he and his wife had a child.
Among the heroically fallen and missing of the 305 Infantry Battalion was Panagiotis Karagiorgis from Potamia, but also the Dalits Michalis Grootas, father of two children, Dimitris Demetriou, father of one child, Michalakis Savva, Antonis Efthymiou, Loizos Zavou, father of one child, Charalambos Theocharous, Georgios Milikouris, Nikos Tselepis, father of one child, and Christakis Christodoulou, father of two children. From Lympia, Andreas Varnava, Petros Ioannou, Demetrios Malakidis, father of one child, Theodoros Mavrosavas, father of three children, enlisted in the 305 Infantry Battalion, Savvas Savva, George Skoulias, father of three children, James Neophytou, father of one child, Kakoullis Moustakas and Lucas Demetriou, father of two children.
From Pera Chorio Nissou and Nissou, the 305 TP included Andreas Kourounas, father of two children, Christos Kostis, father of one child, Georgios Roussos and Jonas Christou.
Of the 31 reservists of the 305 TP, who resided in the communities that make up the new South Nicosia-Idalia Municipality, fifteen have been identified to date, while the fate of the remaining sixteen is unknown.
Sofoklis Georgiou from Alambra fell on 14 August after fierce fighting with Turkish troops in the area of Nicosia Airport, which was in the zone of responsibility of the 212 TP, in which he enlisted as a reservist.
Savvas Savvidis from Dali served his military service in 1974 and was assigned to the 181st Field Artillery Squadron (FP), which operated in Synchari. On 23 July the squadron was attacked and his traces disappeared. His remains were found in exhumations in the area and his burial took place in April 2016.
From Dali was also Christoforos Skordis, who enlisted as a reservist in the 398 TP in Kythrea, where he was taken prisoner by Turkish troops. His remains were found in the area of Tziaus in a mass grave and his funeral was held in August 2009.
In Tziaus, the traces of Nikos Pantelis, who had joined the 305 Infantry Battalion and later the 398 CP, were also lost. His traces were lost on 14 August during fighting and since then his fate has been unknown.
Andreas Poirazis was the father of six children and Antonis Antoniou the father of eight children. They were arrested in Strogilos by armed Turkish Cypriots, who led them and other men to the Turkish Cypriot village of Sidda, where their remains were found in a mass grave during exhumations in 2009 and 2010. Their burial took place in Dali in 2016.
Andreas Taliadoros from Dali, father of a minor child, was serving in the 70 T.M. along with other men of the Battalion and, while on a mission to mine the Karavas-Lapithos area, they were trapped inside Lapithos by Turkish troops. During the march of his group, in order to get out of the Turkish troops' encirclement, they were ambushed by the Turkish troops and during the exchange of fire his traces were lost.
Another group of heroes from the communities of South Nicosia are the 18-year-old soldiers who served their service in the 286 TP in Kokkinotrimithia. The men of 286 were involved in battles with Turkish troops in the area of Agios Hermolaos. Then, and after instructions to disengage from the area, together with another 22 men of their battalion, they reached the area of Agia Marina Skyloura, where they fought a new battle with Turkish troops, taking positions on high ground.
Among them was Markos Pitti who served his military service in 1974 and his remains were found in the area where the battle took place, while his burial was held in 2017 in Dali. In the same battles, the traces of Theodoulos Theodoulou from Palaikythro, whose burial took place in 2017 in Pera Chorio Nissou, as well as Paraschos Ionas from Nissou, who participated in repelling the Turkish attacks in the province of Kyrenia, were lost.
In the same Battalion, in 286, Konstantinos Kapsokartis from Lympia, who also served his military service. The traces of Kapsokarte disappeared on 6 August 1974 in the area of Lapithos and Karavas. His remains were found in a mass grave in Lapithos, and he was buried in 2010 in Lympia.
Another small heroic group of local youths, in the midst of the tragic events of 1974, were serving their service in the 361 CP based in Synchari. Among them were Nikos Pericleous from Dali, Alexandros Olympiou from Lympia and Minas Papavasileiou from Pera Chorio Nissou.
Pericleous and Olympiou took part in the battles of Agios Epiktitos, and were last seen north of Kythrea. Their remains were found outside the village of Kornokipos. The funeral of Pericles was held in April 2013 in Dali and of Olympius in 2020 in Aglantzia. Papavasileiou's traces were lost on 14 August 1974 in Klepini after fierce clashes with the occupation troops, while his remains were found in Lefkoniko, with his burial being held this year in February in Pera Chorio.
George Michael from Dali and Michael Savva from Lympia served in the 211 TP. Both, before they turned 20, were thrown into battle and participated in the defence of Nicosia on the Trachona-Omorfita-Neapolis-North Pole Line. Michael was wounded in the leg during the disengagement and was trapped in areas occupied by the Turks. His remains were found in a mass grave in an area of occupied Nicosia in 2015 and he was buried in September 2017 at the Macedonitissa Tomb.
Savvas' traces were lost on 23 July 1974 after fierce fighting between his battalion, the heroic 211 TP, and Turkish troops. While there was a ceasefire, the Turks attacked and surrounded the outpost, which they eventually captured. His remains were found in 2015 in a mass grave, which was located in an area of occupied Nicosia and was also buried in 2017 in Lympia.
From Lympia was Eleftherios Kuzapas, who in 1974 served his military service in the 399 TP in Bogazi, Famagusta. His traces were lost during fighting in the area of Aspri Mutti, north of Dikomou. His remains were found there, in Aspri Moutti, and his funeral was held in September 2017.
Theodoros Papakonstantis, also from Lympia, served his military service in the 281 CP. His battalion was attacked by Turkish warplanes, resulting in Papakonstantis' heroic death and burial with the rest of the fallen in the village of Kontenos. His remains were found in 2013 and he was buried in 2016 in his hometown. His traces were lost on 14 August 1974, today, the day of the second phase of the invasion in the Trachoni Kythrea-Mia Milia area after fierce and uneven fighting with Turkish troops. His remains were found in a mass grave in the area of the Turkish Cypriot village of Mora from exhumations in 2011 and his burial took place in 2015.
Kostakis Lambrou from Dikomo joined the 301 TP as a reservist. He took part in the clashes with Turkish troops in the area of the village of Trulli in Larnaca, where he was mortally wounded by a mortar shell. He was subsequently transferred to Larnaca Hospital and was buried on 20 August 1974 in Nissou.
Antonis Theodoulou from Tymbou performed his military service in the 251 CP based in Glykiotissa. After the Turks attacked their positions with tanks and the advance of the enemy, the traces of Theodoulos disappeared. His remains were found in a mass grave in the area of the village of Kazafani in 2010 and 2014 and his burial took place in Nissou in 2018.
Varnavas Kouvaros from Nissou, a father of two children, enlisted as a reservist on the day of the invasion. He was sent to serve in outposts in the village of Genagra and died in a car accident on the Genagra-Pyrgos road on August 12, two days before the second phase of the Turkish invasion. His burial took place on the same day in Nissou.
Panagiotis Karantonas declared himself present at the call of his homeland and enlisted as a reserve commando in the 33rd M.K. at Pella Pais. He took part with other commandos of the 33rd M.K. in the risky expedition to the castle of St. Hilarion on July 20, and at dawn the next day it was discovered that Karantonas was among the absentees. His remains were found in 2017 in a mass grave in the area of Agios Hilarion and were buried in July 2021 in Pera Chorio.
Another select group of heroes we honor today are those who sacrificed for the homeland a decade before the Turkish invasion of 1974. The Dalits Michalis Solomonos, Georgios Eikosaris and Dimitris Hamatsos. George Xenophontos and Stavrakis Christodoulou from Pera Chorio Nissou and Nissou. All of them gave their lives during the Turkantasia.
In particular, Dalit Michael Solomonos on 25/06/1964 was on his way to work in Pallouriotissa. On the road he was arrested by armed Turkish Cypriots and since then his traces have disappeared. Solomon's remains were found from exhumations in the area of Hamit Madres and his burial took place in 2014 in Dali.
George Eikosaris, in August 1964, was serving in the then newly formed National Fora and during the clashes in Pachyammos of Tylliria he was wounded and transferred to the temporary hospital in Pachyammos. On 09/08/1964 the hospital was hit by bombs from a Turkish plane and Eikosaris was among those who died. His remains were found from exhumations on the site of the then temporary hospital of Pachyammos and he was buried in August 2020 in Dali.
Dimitris Hamatsos took part as a volunteer in the battles of Agios Sozomenos and was mortally wounded, while carrying a wounded policeman further back from the battlefield to treat him.
George Xenophontos and Stavrakis Christodoulou were 21 and 20 years old, respectively, when they too joined the National Guard as volunteers. Both of them fell heroically on 6 August in the battles of Masoura during clashes to suppress the Turkantarsia.
The reference to each of our heroically fought fallen and missing was made in order to remind us of the duty and responsibility of each of us to preserve their indelible memory.
Today's call is an act of responsibility, for which I would like to congratulate, on behalf of the President of the Republic, the newly established Municipality of South Nicosia-Idalia, the Cultural Committee of the Municipality and especially the Mayor Dr.Stavros Hatzigiannis, as well as the Deputy Mayors and Municipal Councillors for this initiative, and wish them all the best in the important work they have undertaken.
The 59 stories of the people we honour today, each one like a piece of mosaic, creates the tragic picture of the events of 1974 and 1963-1964.
Fifty-nine people, who started from the communities of the region, took on the enemy and wrote their names in gold letters on one of the most tragic pages of Cypriot history. They did not cower, they did not retreat, they did not think for a moment about giving up the battle. They threw themselves into it and kept in full the oath they took, fighting for the defence of our homeland to the last drop of their blood. It is why initiatives such as today's remind us of the heavy legacy that our heroes and their families bequeath to new generations, keeping their memory unquenched and immortal through the years.
It is our duty to ensure that their sacrifice continues to be honoured. It is our pledge that we will continue relentlessly and consistently with all our efforts until the fate of our last missing person is determined.
(PM/MS/GS)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
