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- Ελληνικά
The contribution of the Greek martyrs during the Turkish invasion, as well as the efforts made to determine the fate of the missing persons, was mentioned by the Head of Humanitarian Affairs for Missing and Trapped Persons, Ms Anna Aristotelous, at the meeting she had with relatives of the fallen and missing persons from Greece.
In her address, Ms. Aristotelous said that most of our Greek brothers breathed their last breath, were wounded or their traces were lost and since then their fate has been unknown, in the area of Gerolakkou, 10 km west of the capital. There, he said, "was the honoured camp of the ELDYK, the camp that was turned into a sacrificial altar of heroic martyrs. There, in the Thermopylae of Nicosia, they fought their last battle, knowing that death was inevitable. They did not cower, they did not retreat, they stood with bravery, responding to the primordial imperative:
Ms. Aristotelous noted that 49 years later, in these difficult days for our country, we remember, we honor, we seek. "Our brothers fallen and missing. The men of the Greek Force of Cyprus, our Greek brothers who served in the National Guard, those who fought the battle by putting up a heroic resistance to face the multiple forces of the Turkish invaders", she noted.
Addressing the relatives of the fallen and missing, she explained that the struggle to preserve the memory and determine the fate of all those who are still missing is unceasing.
Addressing the relatives of the fallen and missing, she explained that the struggle to preserve the memory and determine the fate of all those who are still missing is unceasing. "The difficulties of tracing and identification are well known. As are the problems that have arisen during the exhumation of the remains of Greeks from the cemeteries of Lakatamia and Saints Constantine and Helen, in order to deliver them to the relatives of a number of the fallen to return to Greece," he said. He added that intensive efforts are continuing, with the aim of determining the fate of all our missing persons, and that all efforts are being made to overcome any obstacles. The discovery of the fate, with convincing and documented evidence, of our last missing person," she continued.
Ms. Aristotelous referred to the difficulties and delays that arise, since it is with the occupation authorities that the negotiation for excavations under occupation conditions is being conducted, but stressed that these problems are "codified, addressed and highlighted at the international and European level."
Ms. Aristotelous referred to the difficulties and delays that arise, since it is with the occupation authorities that negotiations for the conduct of excavations take place, but stressed that these problems are "codified, addressed and highlighted at the international and European level.
She assured the relatives of the fallen and missing persons from Greece that the President of the Republic Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, and she personally, are making every effort to better manage the issue of our missing persons and conveyed his clear message that "regardless of the difficulties and problems, we continue the struggle to clarify the fate of our last missing person. It is our commitment, obligation and duty to our heroes and to you, the relatives of our heroes."
Using the phrase "Andeon epifaron epifaron pasa land grafos", which Thucydides had written in Pericles' Epitaph, and addressing the relatives of the fallen, Ms Aristotelous said that she shared that the death of prominent people has a universal dimension. She added that to these glorious people, whose grave is every land, all honours are due.
Addressing the relatives of the missing, she said that she shared their anguish and drama. "For 49 years you have carried on your shoulders the torment of uncertainty about the fate of your loved ones and heroes of all of us. We promise to work with all our efforts to end this suffering," Ms. Aristotelous concluded, welcoming the relatives of the fallen and missing from Greece to the homeland of our heroes and their homeland.
(PM/NG/EXP)
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