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- Ελληνικά
Through the darkest hours of history, the only hope that emerges as a ray of light is the heroism and self-sacrifice of people. Of ordinary everyday people who manage to leave the "I" and sacrifice themselves for the "we."
Because a place like ours, a small place, a little place, in a geographical area of particular geostrategic importance, needs the "we" more than anyone else, it needs people. People who in the blackest pages, they will write about "we" in the brightest letters.
And the community of occupied Achna had the luck and honor to give birth to several such people, chief among them those we are here today to honor.
And I could not, in the context of today's event - and here I convey a personal experience of people who were forced to leave their homes in 1974 - not to mention the role played by the Forest of Achna in the black summer of 1974, when our people were tested in the most cruel and unrelenting way. It was here, yes, in Dasaki of Achna, that tens of thousands of refugees, violently uprooted by the Turkish Attila, found their first shelter, their first hospitality. Here, in Dassaki of Achna, the historic promise was made for the first time that our occupied land will never be forgotten and we will fight until the blessed hour of return.
It is here, in Dassaki of Achna, that our people, a few twenty-four hours after the first brutal onslaught of the Turkish forces, proved that they will not kneel before anyone and anything, because here we shook hands with each other, and in the midst of pain and anguish, we opposed philanthropy and solidarity with our fellow man, our compatriot, our refugee. Despite the hardships of refugeeism, the surplus of solidarity did not let the hope go out, it reaped it in our souls and turned it into an unquenchable flame for struggle.
We are here today to pay the minimum tribute to those who sacrificed their lives so that the Cypriot state, the Republic of Cyprus, our homeland, our land could continue to exist.
We are here today to pay the minimum tribute to those who sacrificed their lives so that the Cypriot state, the Republic of Cyprus, our homeland, our land could continue to exist.
The heroes we honour today are a true beacon that illuminates our historical memory, so that we never stray from the path of the struggle for the liberation and reunification of our homeland. Rightly so, Achna, like so many other communities in every corner of our homeland, is proud of its worthy children who watered the tree of freedom with their blood.
I therefore warmly congratulate the Community of Achna, as well as the President and the Members of the Community Council, even more for the fact that this work was done without any financial burden for the Community, but also without any state aid for the erection of this monument, as well as the contributor who created the busts of the heroes.
Allow me, in the context of this modest ceremony of the unveiling of our heroes, to refer telegraphically, without exaggeration, to the greatness - and this is the most important thing through these events - to the legacies left to us as a debt by the sacrifices of these children, all originating from the heroic town of Achna, because they are very young children, who with vigour and courage chose the path of sacrifice and eternity.
Adonis Christoforou, a young sergeant of the 399 Infantry Battalion, only 19 years old, was "lost" in the effort to defend his homeland in the chaos of war north of the village of Synchari. Unfortunately, his remains were found there many years later and were identified by the DNA method.
Kyriakos Panagiotis Kkou, 18 years old, in January 1974, joined the ranks of the National Guard and served in the 181st Field Artillery Squadron with the rank of Corporal. He was also sacrificed for altars and hearths on 23 July 1974, during the heroic battle of Synchari.
Lambros Vardaki Demetriou joined the National Guard and served in the 32nd Commando Squadron, with which he took part in many battles during the Turkish invasion. In one of these, defending the supreme good of freedom, he was killed at the age of 24.
Young, only 19 years old, was Panagiotou Konstantinos, also from Achna. He passed into eternity, faithful to his duty to his country on July 20, 1974, during the bombing by the Turkish army of the Nicosia Artillery camp in Athalassa, Nicosia.
Today we also honour George Ioakim, a native of Makrasyka, who fell heroically in combat, serving in the 183rd Artillery Squadron, in Agios Hermolaos of Kyrenia, at the age of 23.
I cannot fail to mention the soldiers who come from the martyred Achna and, unfortunately, their fate is still unknown today. I cannot fail to mention the missing 20-year-old soldier Adoulis Seneckis, who served in the 251 Infantry Battalion, and the missing 19-year-old soldier Andreas Pavlou, who served in the 211 Infantry Battalion, the missing 23-year-old reserve officer Georgios Socrates Georgiou and the missing 19-year-old soldier Giannakis Kokkinos, who was serving in the 182nd Field Artillery Squadron.
Also missing, unfortunately, continue to be the civilian Theodosis Giannakis Giannakis, father of five children who have been anxiously searching for their father since 5 February 1975 when he was illegally arrested by the occupation troops, just as they did with Nikola Liggi, whose fate has been unknown since September 1974 when they tried to visit their home in occupied Achna with his wife Androulla Savvas, who was murdered in cold blood.
We also honour Theodosi Pitsilides, who died in the line of duty during the 1967 General Recruitment and the reserve soldier Panagiotis Martis, who was mortally wounded while on his way to his unit in Mathiatis in 1986, leaving behind his wife and two children.
The wounds of the Turkish invasion and the ongoing occupation have remained open for 49 years.
The wounds of the Turkish invasion and the ongoing occupation remain open for 49 years. We live and experience them every day, you see them every morning here in Achna.
The refugees, the missing, the trapped, the illegal occupation and the violation of the human rights of the Cypriot people continue and remain the most resounding reminder of the historical debt we owe for the liberation of our homeland. A historical debt that resonates through the heroism and sacrifice of all those we honour today. We therefore have a moral obligation not to compromise with the occupation, and this is our promise to the future generations of this land.
It is precisely in this context that we are working on the basis of a specific plan and design, so that we can achieve the lifting of the deadlock and the resumption of the talks that will lead us to the resolution of the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions and the principles and values of the EU.
And I really hope, I will do everything possible, next week in New York, in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, to create those facts that will allow us to be really optimistic about the resumption of the talks that will lead to the resolution of the Cyprus problem.
Our heroes, the heroes we honour today, the heroes of the struggles of Cypriot Hellenism "demand" a single monument, "demand" our unreserved commitment to the struggle to justify their sacrifice. They "demand" that we do everything possible to liberate their beloved Cyprus for which they themselves did not hesitate to take the road of eternity.
Their busts from today will be yet another historical reminder of the debt and the supreme duty we have undertaken. We honour their memory, and continue their work in defence of the homeland, for the liberation and reunification of our country.
(PM/EP)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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