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- Ελληνικά
It is with a feeling of deep emotion, but also with a feeling of sorrow and pain for the ongoing drama that our country is experiencing as a result of the Turkish invasion and occupation that we have gathered here today, in the Holy Church of St. Demetrios, to pay tribute, commemorating the heroes and fallen of Acheritos and to pray for the determination of the fate of the missing person of the community.
Today is the day of remembrance of occupied Acheritou. Forty-nine years have passed since the violent occupation of this sacred land by Attila's hordes on 31 August 1974, which completed the crime of the Turkish invasion.
Acheritou, with an exclusively Greek population until the tragic summer of 1974, is located just ten kilometres west of Famagusta, at the beginning of the great plain of Mesaoria. It was a purely agricultural village, with fertile land, where the inhabitants prospered through their occupation mainly with agriculture and animal husbandry.
But with the beginning of the second phase of the Turkish invasion on 14 August 1974, the daily life of the inhabitants had changed. The Turkish army had occupied Famagusta and subsequently, violating the ceasefire that had been agreed, occupied the neighbouring villages of Kalopsida, Makrasika and Achna, while word was spreading of their impending invasion of Acheritou as well. The Acheriotes were now living in a nightmarish climate of uncertainty and insecurity. Until 30 August 1974, they slept at night in their orchards or near the well-known SEDIGEP packing plant, where many hundreds of refugees from other villages were staying. During the day, however, they returned to their homes to do the necessities of daily life.
The rumours of a Turkish invasion of the defenseless village were unfortunately confirmed on the morning of 31 August 1974. The Turkish troops cross the plain from the side of Styles and Eggomi and head for Acheritou, while the British of Epistania remain unconcerned. The inhabitants of the community and those refugees who were staying there, flee in fear and panic by whatever means they have to save themselves.
In a short time the Turkish soldiers invade the village. Those who did not manage to leave, most of them elderly, are confronted with Turkish brutality. They are captured by the conquerors, abused, and two of them are executed in cold blood. The other trapped Acheriotes are taken care of for a few days by United Nations men and then they too leave their homes and are transported to join their fellow villagers who have taken refuge in a potato packing plant.
The beautiful village of Acheritou, weak and without any support from the betrayed National Guard, inevitably fell prey to Attila's hordes who also wreaked havoc and destruction there. Dead, missing, refugees make up the painful picture that the completion of the Turkish invasion brought.
Since then, for 49 years, the drama of the refugees of Acheritos has continued along with the drama of all the refugees of Cyprus. But as the majority of the community's residents stay here in the settlement of Agios Georgios and see their homes occupied and their property squandered by Turkish settlers every day, a little further away, unable to react, they experience the uprooting even more excruciatingly. They see the Church of the Ascension with the cross cut off turned into a mosque and the cemetery of their ancestors desecrated. As much as they want to, they cannot forget the horrible images of the Turkish invasion. The pain of refugees, of unjust deaths, of searching for the fate of the missing, never fades. People may have moved on and rebuilt their lives, but the memories of their beloved land and the hope of returning will not stop, no matter how many years pass. Our ancestral homes, the graves of our ancestors, our churches, the holy places of our land that shape our historical, cultural and national heritage. What we have not forgotten and will never forget and no conqueror has been able to change, harm or falsify. We have endured and are enduring the trials and continue to struggle, vindicating the service and sacrifice of those we honour today.
It is our duty to vindicate the sacrifice of our heroes and to live up to our history and our debt to the generations of today and tomorrow. We must never forget our occupied homeland and persevere in the goal of the reunification of our island. Lasting memory is a function of lasting resistance. Resistance against the oblivion of the deceased, resistance against compromise with the tragic consequences of the Turkish invasion and occupation of a large part of our homeland.
On behalf of the State, we renew our commitment to wisely continue the struggle with all our forces for a just, honest and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, where the human rights and basic freedoms of all the Cypriot people are guaranteed, so that they can live in peace and security in the land of their ancestors. We never cease to seek in every possible way to determine the fate of all our missing persons.
The recent events in Pyla have shown once again the true face of the occupier. The immediate reaction of the Nicos Christodoulides government brought universal international condemnation from the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, the United States and the international community. The objective always remains the resumption of the process of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem within the framework of the UN resolutions for a solution of a bizonal bicommunal federation with political equality, ratification of the European acquis and freedom from guarantees and occupation troops.
Today the United Nations Assistant Secretary General Mr. Miroslav Yetzia is visiting Cyprus.
Today the United Nations Assistant Secretary General Mr. Miroslav Yetzia is visiting Cyprus.
Today the United Nations Assistant Secretary General Mr. Miroslav Yetzia is visiting Cyprus. The President of the Republic and the Cypriot Government moved immediately after taking over governance of the country both towards the European Union and the United Nations to resume talks, despite the intransigent stance of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot sides. We have an obligation to continue the struggle, despite the difficulties, until the final vindication.
This will be the greatest honour for the heroes and the missing person of Acheritou. The fallen Giannakis Ioannou, Giannakis Tziovanis, Kostas Ilias, Kendeas Kassianos, Antonis Rialas, Panagiotis Marinou, Vasos Sergios, Andreas Madoles, Andreas Karullas, Paschalis Mosfili, Christakis Papallis, Andreas Demetriou with his Acheriot roots, as well as the brutally executed, Christofis Prodromou, Gregorou Georgiou and Yasoumis Tsiourotis will always live in our souls, while we will continue to demand the clarification of the fate of our missing person Sotiris Sotiriou.
Glory and honor to the heroes of Acheritos.
Eternal memory. Respect and deep gratitude will accompany them forever.
Thank you.
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