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Ladies and gentlemen,
It is with deep emotion and a sense of historical debt that we are gathered here today, at the Annual Religious and Anti-Religious event, to pay due tribute to the memory of the children of the heroic community of Milia Famagusta.
It is a special honour for me to unveil the Monument here in Kellia Larnaca, which was an unchanging and timeless wish of the people of the occupied Community, as a minimum tribute to the fallen who sacrificed for the homeland, and to those who are still missing. This monument, modest and humble, is an everlasting expression of our gratitude and respect to them and their loved ones, reminding future generations of the bravery and history of Milia Famagusta.
Facing this monument, we commemorate and honour today those who died in the Turkish invasion.
Artemis Columbus[/B] was born in Milia in 1954. In the black summer of 1974, while performing his military service, he was surrounded by Turks along with other soldiers in Famagusta harbour. It was the morning of 20 July when he came under sniper fire. He was buried in a mass grave in the Stavros cemetery in Famagusta.
Born in 1951, Flouretzos Pavlou, was called in July 1974 to defend his homeland as a reservist in a unit in Trikomo. From there he was transferred to the village of Tziaos where fighting was taking place. On the afternoon of 22 July, during an assault by his unit, he was fatally shot by a Turkish sniper. The next morning, his fellow soldiers carried him to his village, where he was buried.
Antonis Nikolaou, [/B]who was born in 1954, was called to fight the Turkish invader in the "White Moutti" area. The second invasion found him retreating with his unit to the village of Mia Milia in Nicosia. There his traces disappeared. His remains were found four decades later by a Turkish Cypriot farmer in the Epiho area, and after being identified by DNA, he was buried in January 2016.
Petros Charalamboudis, [/B]originally from Milia Famagusta, then a resident of Yialousa, was killed in action during the second Turkish invasion of Mia Milia in Nicosia. His fate was unknown until his remains were identified by DNA in 2011.
Vryonis Pieris Adamou,[/B] who enlisted at Bogazi Famagusta and was subsequently transferred with his battalion to Pente Mili Kyrenia to repel the invasion of the Turkish invaders. During the second phase of the invasion he was seen being arrested in a house in Famagusta and his fate has been unknown ever since. His remains were found in the Agios Loukas area of Famagusta.
Adamos Kyriakou (Koumasta)[/B] was also 21 years old when the Turkish invasion broke out, where he was found in Pachyammos of Kyrenia. In September '74 he was ordered to report to the Polemidion camp. It was then that it was announced by the National Guard that his gun, which discharged while on duty, killed him instantly.
They all rushed to duty, to fight with courage, virtue and daring against the Turkish invader, who was outnumbered in material and numerical strength.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today we honor and recite a prayer for the recovery of our missing persons, whose names still remain in the long list. Panagiotis Pavlou and Georgios Kefalas. The information gathered states that Panagiotis Pavlou in the invasion fought in the "White Mutti", and with the retreat of his unit, he found himself in the area of Mia Milia in Nicosia. Since 14 August 1974 his fate has been unknown. His parents identified him in a photograph of prisoners in Adana three years later.
George Kefalas,[/B] according to testimony, was last seen on 30 July 1974 in the area of Ayrtas and his fate has been unknown ever since. The invasion found him in the 181 Field Artillery Squadron at Trikomo. His unit was surrounded at Synchari Kyrenia by Turkish paratroopers, where he was attacked.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In this small ceremony we also commemorate the deceased prisoners of 1974 in Gypsum and Voni: Despina Chrysostomou, Michael Hatzioula, Kyriakos Christodoulou, Pantelis Varnavas, Martha Pavli and Despina Giannoudiou.
We also honour the memory of Kostas Christodoulou, who fell in 1822 in the battle of Prusa in Asia Minor, and also the Martyr Priest Gerasimos of the Monastery of Our Lady of Avgassis, who was killed in the massacres of July 1821 by order of Koutsiuk and with the approval of the High Gate.
May 12 today, is also the day celebrated by the monastic centre of Agios Epiphanio in occupied Milia, and also "Farmers' Day", as established in honour of the struggles and contributions of our Cypriot peasants and farmers.
It is the day on which we honour and commemorate Re Alexis, this important personality, a native of Katomilia, who 597 years ago led the peasants' revolution, at a time when Cyprus was under the yoke of the Franks.
The timeless significance of the message of the revolution of the great Cypriot revolutionary Re Alexis is more relevant today than ever before. In the face of the current difficult conditions facing Cyprus and the entire planet, the example of Re Alexis serves as a compass that guides us in the direction of facing the challenges, with the primary sector of the economy being called upon to play a leading role.
It is for this reason that, as the Government, we stand by our farmers, emphasizing the development of agricultural production and the improvement of their living conditions. With the roadmap of the President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Christodoulides' governance programme as our roadmap, we are working to formulate, among other things, the new strategy for the development of the primary sector, which aims to increase the contribution of the agricultural sector to the Gross Domestic Product, to ensure a fair income for our farmers, and to make available high quality products at affordable prices.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It has already been 50 years. Already half a century since the Turkish invasion. The dead, the missing, our heroic prisoners, the thousands of our compatriots who became refugees in their own country, the continuing illegal occupation of our ancestral lands, the colonization and the destruction of our cultural heritage, dramatically compose the bitter backdrop of the Cyprus problem.
Listening to the voice of our fallen and the appeals of the relatives of our missing, we must continue the struggle for a comprehensive, just and viable solution for all Cypriots. The liberation of Cyprus is the top priority of the administration of President Nicos Christodoulides.
In this effort, it is imperative that we walk together, delivering to younger generations a free, peaceful and prosperous homeland. A homeland as envisioned by those who gave their lives for freedom. Karantonis and the members of the Milia Famagusta Community Council, the Milia Association of Famagusta, the Milia Youth Community Council "Re Alexis", the Milia Church Committee and the relatives of the heroes of the community, for organizing this religious and anti-communist event that keeps the memory unquenched.
I also convey my congratulations on behalf of the Government for the initiative to erect the Monument of Milia Famagusta, to stand as an unshakable symbol of the selfless sacrifice of our fallen fighters, illuminating the path of memory and honour for generations to come. Today, while we acknowledge their contribution, we also undertake to ensure that their sacrifice is remembered and that their ideals continue to guide us and show us the way to freedom.
Eternal is their memory.
(Ephys/NYAN/EATH)
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