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- Ελληνικά
We have an obligation to tell our children about what happened on July 15, President of the Republic Nicos Christodoulides said today.
Speaking to journalists after the memorial service for those who died in the coup at the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen in Nicosia, the President of the Republic said: "we honour the memory of all those who fought to defend what is most important to us, the Republic of Cyprus."
At the same time, we clearly condemn the pre-planned aphrodisiac coup, the treasonous coup of the Athenian Junta and its collaborators in Cyprus. There are no different or multiple interpretations. One interpretation is a treasonous coup against the legitimate President of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, against the Republic of Cyprus, for its collapse.
But, apart from such ceremonies, which are certainly necessary, we should also get the right messages.
Today I keep two things. The first is that all of us who are temporarily involved, especially all of us who are involved in the public life of the country, must show through our daily behavior that we have taken the messages of what happened on July 15, 1974 in practice.
The second, which concerns me, which worries me 49 years later, is that we have an obligation to talk to our children about what happened on that day. 49 years may have passed, but nothing, nothing is a given.
And talking many times with the younger generation of our country, I feel that we are not telling and informing them about all this. So, if we really want to honour all those who sacrificed for the Republic of Cyprus to exist, the most important thing we have, let us take five to ten minutes today to explain to our children what happened on 15 July 1974. Because nothing can be taken for granted."
In response to a journalist's remark that this should also be reflected in education, the President said: "certainly. Everyone. It reflects on Education, it reflects on each of us personally. Certainly, Education is very important, there is a reference to it, but I am referring to the personal responsibility that each of us has to speak up, to take a few minutes to explain what happened because democracy is not a given. We have seen the results of what was attempted on 15 July 1974, which we are still experiencing today."
Subsequently, the President of the Republic will attend the special session of the House of Representatives on the black anniversaries and then lay a wreath at the Resistance Monument in the Presidential Park.
(PM/MB)
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