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- Ελληνικά
Another Sunday in July finds us honoring heroes. Heroes who fell in the line of duty during the tragic events of 1974 and other historical periods in the turbulent history of our small and tormented country. We pay tribute today to Christodoulos Fotiou Maouzi who fell fighting during the second Turkish invasion in August 1974. We also honour the heroes Michalakis Paridis, fighter of EOKA 1955-59, and Tasos Konstantinou who fell in the battles against the Turks during the Turkish invasion of 1964.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Christodoulos Fotiou Maouzis was born in the village of Vokolida, Famagusta District, on 8 May 1956.
Christodoulos Fotiou Maouzis was born in the village of Vokolida, Famagusta District, on 8 May 1956.
Christodoulos Fotiou Maouzis was born in the village of Vokolida, Famagusta District, on 8 May 1956. He was the youngest of the five children of Fotis and Eleni Christodoulou. From an early age he was nurtured with the values of love for family, country and the Christian faith.
Coming from a poor family, he left primary school at the age of 13 due to necessity and followed the path of the arts. He devoted himself to the art of sewing, going daily to a master craftsman in Varosha. He quickly learned the trade and established himself for his excellent craft and excellent character.
In January 1974 he joined the National Guard and after basic training he was assigned to the 399 Infantry Battalion, based in Monarga, above the Naval Base in Bogazi. He was 17 years old. A few months later the black events that marked the modern history of our country took place. The traitorous coup and the Turkish invasion. There his traces somehow disappeared. His unit was instructed to man and reinforce the green line at Mia Milia outside Nicosia.
After the end of the first invasion he gave signs of life and managed after many attempts to have a brief meeting with his relatives outside the place where his battalion was camped near Mia Milia.
It was the last goodbye. In the second Turkish invasion that followed on 14 August, Christodoulos took part in the battles that broke out at Mia Milia, Bonn and Kythraia. According to later accounts, in a forced retreat, Christodoulos Maouzis and his fellow soldiers were trapped in the area by the Turkish invaders. They entered the village of Bonn as a precaution, where an elderly woman fled them along with members of her family and after writing down everyone's names on the bottom of her dress, gave them to the Red Cross when they crossed into the free areas.
Later, unfortunately, they were spotted and captured by the Turkish army and without being declared prisoners were taken to the Turkish village of Bekiyu. They were executed in cold blood and covered with dirt in archaeological graves.
In 2011, the remains of Christodoulos Maouzi were found in a mass grave in the village of Bekiyou village and identified by DNA. The hero of Vokolida, Christodoulos Maouzis, gave his life in the flower of his youth in defense of his homeland.
Fellow countrymen and women,
Our long-suffering homeland has many historical struggles to show in its long history. The anti-colonial struggle of EOKA 1955-'59 is at the top of the list. Michalakis Paridis was one of the great protagonists of this struggle.
He was born in 1933 in Anafotida and died fighting against the British at Vavla on 27 August 1958. His parents were George and Panagiota and he had five brothers and sisters.
From a young age he joined the Pancyprian Youth Organization (PEON) and his participation in the demonstrations cost him his job, both at the Bank and as a teacher after he was fired with the intervention of the British.
Michalakis Paridis was a founding member and provincial secretary of PEON. On April 1, 1955, Paridis took part in the start of the struggle in Larnaca. He was arrested on the evening of the same day, as head of the Aris group. He was taken to court along with Stavros Poskotis, George Lycurgos, Xanthos Iakovidis and Iakovos Kaiserlidis. It was the first major trial of EOKA members. All five were sentenced, Paridis to seven years' imprisonment.
On 12 December 1957, Paridis was transferred to the Nicosia General Hospital to undergo an operation. The same night, he managed to escape. Very soon Digenis put him in charge of the out-of-town sector of Larnaca, based in Vavla. As section chief of the district, he managed to reorganize the groups of the villages in his sector and won the Chief's congratulations for his rich activity.
There in Vavla, he was unfortunately spotted by the British in the house of the then village teacher, Christakis Karagiorgis. He refused to leave the village and fought the battle alone on 27 August 1958. He fell heroically fighting with his chest pierced by the English bullets. The hero's last words are worthy of admiration for his courage and his contempt for death in the face of the supreme good, freedom. I'm not going out to be arrested. What will Digenis say, how will my comrades-in-arms feel when they learn that their section leader has surrendered to them with his gun unlocked? I'm not going to surrender. I'll fight, that's what fighters do. I'm not going back to prison."[/I][/I]
Ladies and gentlemen,
Another hero who soaked this land with his blood is Tasos Konstantinou. He was born in 1940 and was the child of a family of ten. His parents were Kostas Ioannou Ilias and Eleni Anthony Hadjichristodoulou. He attended the Anafotida Primary School and the Pancyprian Commercial Lyceum of Larnaca.
He also took part in the 1955-59 EOKA struggle. He was initiated into the struggle by the priest George Antoniou and developed activity in the sectors of Anafotida, Angelides and Mazotos.
In 1960 he joined the ranks of the Police. Tasos Konstantinou was killed in a battle against the Turkish mutineers by enemy gunfire as he tried to help his wounded colleague.
Compatriots,
Our country paid a heavy price in all the national challenges it had to face and unfortunately the vindication of the struggles has not yet come. A large part of our homeland is still under occupation, colonization and usurpation of our properties continue and the provocative actions in the Famagusta area in recent months make our work and efforts for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem even more difficult.
Despite this, and despite the constant provocative statements by the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot side about a two-state solution, we nevertheless have an obligation to continue our efforts. President Christodoulides, upon taking office, placed the Cyprus problem as a top priority and took the initiative both through the European Union and to the UN Secretary General to resume negotiations.
The Greek Cypriot side has requested the appointment of a UN envoy and an EU envoy and is ready to discuss a solution as set out in the UN resolutions. A solution of a bizonal bicommunal federation with political equality through which the rights of the Cypriots are guaranteed, which safeguards the European acquis, which provides for freedom from the occupying army and from the anachronistic system of guarantees.
But a solution that is fair so that it is also viable and ensures peace, development and prosperity for all the inhabitants of our country.
Thank you very much.
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