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- Ελληνικά
The President of the Republic Mr.Nikos Christodoulides was present tonight and spoke at an anniversary event on the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion organised by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA), at the University's premises.
During the event, which was attended by the President of the Hellenic Republic Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Archbishop of Athens Ieronymos II, representatives of the Greek Government and other officials, the Rector of the University Professor Gerasimos Siasos announced the decision of the Senate to award the President of the Hellenic Republic an honorary doctorate of the NKUA.
In his speech at the event, the President of the Republic said the following. Feelings of joyfulness. On the one hand, it is the distinguished honor to be the guest speaker of the oldest academic institution in Greece, as well as the emotion and pride of the student who received its lights. But it is also the sadness of the fact that I will be speaking on the anniversary of a half-century, 50-year drama of Cyprus and Hellenism.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, ladies and gentlemen, with its strong temporal symbolism, is an occasion for collective reflection, learning lessons and reaffirming principles, values and positions in relation to the management of the ongoing occupation since 1974 of a large part of the territory of an independent and sovereign state, the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the United Nations and the European Union.
The treacherous and reprehensible Junta coup of 15 July, which overthrew the legitimate President Archbishop Makarios, was used as a pretext by Turkey to invade Cyprus a few days later, committing one of the greatest crimes in the modern post-war history of Europe.
The pain of the events of the black summer of 1974 and the memories of shame and despair, all vivid, are circling in the mind, like thousands of bees around the carcass of Onesilos. Fatefully, the memories are revived every summer at the sound of the war sirens. They look back to the heroic fallen, to the laurel wreaths and the bowed heads that cannot gaze optimistically and freely at the occupied homeland while Kyrenia, Famagusta, Morphou, Karpasia are under occupation.
Inexpressible and painful, the memory takes us back to that tragic summer of 1974, those tragic months of July and August, which marked the lives of all Cypriots, including the future of my long-suffering country.
50 years ago, Turkey invaded Cyprus, marking in an Italian and tragic way the history of the country and its people.
50 years ago, Turkey invaded Cyprus, marking in an Italian and tragic way the history of the country and its people. Tragic parents who lost children, mothers who lost sons, young children who lost fathers, relatives who were scattered, having lost their loved ones in battles or in brutal killings, but also their entire lives.
Fifty years. Many, very many. A whole generation, my generation, that of the children of war, was born and raised in refugeeism, in occupation, in the harsh and cruel reality of a Cyprus divided by the force of arms. The children of war, who slid into their mother's arms in those tragic days of 1974, playing and learning letters in tents, now have children of their own, but with the homeland de facto divided and still feeling unjust and betrayed. At the same time, another generation, that of our grandparents, left without being buried in their ancestral soil, with an unfulfilled desire and longing to return.
There are many tragic consequences of the Turkish invasion and occupation with devastating effects that have wounded our people and deeply traumatized our country. All the unacceptable and reprehensible things we see happening today in Ukraine, to which the international community rightly reacts in a condemnatory manner, to which Cyprus and Greece are on the right side of history, were committed 50 years ago in European Cyprus and every day we experience their consequences. That is why the responsibilities of those who committed the invasion and maintain the occupation and of all those who allow the continuation of the division of Cyprus by force are incalculable. They constitute a flagrant violation of international and European law, of the Charter of the United Nations, of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and an unquestionable violation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all Cypriots, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins, who live and are deprived of their basic freedoms in their own country.
This is the cold historical reality, not our reading and interpretation. This is why the need to end the current unacceptable status quo and restore basic freedoms and human rights for all Cypriots, without exception, is imperative. This, after all, is what they are calling for:
- the unjust loss of hundreds of people and the violent uprooting of tens of thousands of families from their homes,
- the missing persons whose fate has yet to be determined,
- the continuing illegal military occupation of more than one third of the territory of our homeland,
- the violation of basic freedoms and fundamental rights of all legal residents of Cyprus,
- the illegal Turkish colonization,
- the interned people who remained, despite persecution, pressure and constant provocations, in their homes, reminding daily the identity of Cyprus,
- the unjustifiable destruction of our cultural and religious heritage.
The tragic consequences of the Turkish invasion and occupation, ladies and gentlemen, do not constitute repeated anniversary rhetoric. They constitute tangible proof of Turkey's heavy responsibilities towards Cyprus, towards the international community and the European Union. This reality does not change, despite Ankara's daily attempts to erode historical truth and legitimize the fait accompli.
The Republic of Cyprus suffered a double rape in 1974 that traumatized, divided and bent it, and despite the illegal attempts to annihilate it, did not destroy it. Yes, this year we are counting 50 consecutive tragic summers and multiple open wounds. But against the wishes and efforts of some, we are also counting at the same time 50 years in which Cypriot Hellenism did not compromise, did not give up, did not forget. Despite the difficulties, the pain, the problems, we did not give in and we did not get used to it. We marched and fought without compromising with the occupation. After all, with the unjust and the unacceptable, the shy and morally constituted man cannot be reconciled. On the contrary, the Cypriot Hellenism worked hard, believed in universal principles and values, developed and further strengthened the statehood of the Republic of Cyprus, making continuous efforts to end the occupation and reunite the country and its people. The Cypriot people, to the disappointment of some, did not forget: they waited, hoped and fought.
The multi-talented and often mutating Turkey, 50 years later, remains the invader and the illegal occupier of about 37% of our land, the one responsible under all the decisions of the international community for the continuation of the flagrant violation of the human rights of all the Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, in their own homeland.
I stand before you today, in the oldest academic institution in Greece, half a century after the most tragic and disastrous moment in modern Cypriot history, the first President of the Republic of Cyprus, born just a few months before that black July and raised with the other children of war, of refugeeism, of "I do not forget", of the incessant search for what is right, what is just, of the relentless search for hope after many and continuing disappointments.
Fifty years later, the road for us has only one direction, because no solution is no solution, because we do not accept partition, because we know who is favoured by the passage of time and stagnation, because on our agenda is only the end of the occupation, the liberation and the reunification of our country. With the necessary political will and in full consultation with the Greek Government, we continue to aim for a solution based on the relevant United Nations resolutions, on the European acquis. Despite the challenges, the difficulties, the frustrations, we truly believe that we can find a way out even on the most thorny issues of the Cyprus problem, even if the enemy, who should at least be a partner, does not cooperate, on equal terms and on the basis of legitimacy. We must rid ourselves of the occupation and division, which are eroding Cyprus' strengths and potential for further progress and prosperity and nullifying the vision of a united, common and prosperous homeland. The only way forward is to intensify our efforts, to read international developments correctly, to understand the geostrategic balances, to shield the international standing of the Republic of Cyprus by strengthening all the power factors of the state and to highlight its role as a pillar of security and stability in the all-important region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East.
The only path, and it is the one I am following and will continue to follow, is the path of progress, cooperation and peace, the path of continuing every effort to break the deadlock and resume the talks as soon as possible. What we seek is liberation and a solution that will reunite the country and its people in conditions of democracy, security, equal rights and opportunities for all its legitimate inhabitants, real peace, progress and prosperity.
Despite the difficulties, the problems, the frustrations, the challenges and even the occasional threats, we do not accept the occupation because we envision a different tomorrow for the children of all Cyprus.
Despite the difficulties, the problems, the frustrations, the challenges and even the occasional threats, we do not accept the occupation because we envision a different tomorrow for the children of all Cyprus. With realism, determination, perseverance, without introversion, without defeatism, without regret, we continue our efforts in an ever-changing international reality. I sincerely thank you.
From the podium of an ark of Hellenism, I wish to pay tribute to my Greek brothers who fell fighting with bravery and self-denial to defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. I express the gratitude of the State and the whole of Cypriot Hellenism for their sacrifice and contribution, as well as to all the Greeks who fought to repel the Italian Turkish invasion.
I would also like to express to you, Madam President, the genuine gratitude of the Cypriot Hellenism for the practical and constant sympathy and support that Greece and the brotherly Greek people have offered during these 50 years in their struggle for survival and vindication. This support and assistance constitute the strongest and most solid foundation of the struggle we are waging. And we know well that a strong Greece is a strong ally of the Republic of Cyprus.
Addressing you, Mr. Rector, I would first like to thank and praise you for the initiative of your noble institution to organize this event, which comes to be added as another link in the chain of ties between the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Big Island.
The whole action of your institution with a focus on Cyprus strengthens us in practice and encourages us. I wish the first University of Greece strength of light and cultural flourishing and success in its work for the benefit of the country and the whole of Hellenism.
Under the burden of the catastrophe of 1974, the greatest tragedy of Hellenism since 1922, the small and beleaguered Cyprus, with the agreement and support of Greece, accepted the solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, the principles and values of the European Union and the acquis communautaire. It was a historic compromise, which to this day defines the policy of the Republic of Cyprus and Greece and the international community as a whole for the resolution of the Cyprus problem.
In the 50 years that have elapsed since 1974, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership, controlled and guided by Ankara, have unfortunately not shown the required will, the readiness for an honourable compromise that would lead to the achievement of the longed-for solution. Instead, they steadfastly and intransigently insisted on logics of direct or indirect recognition of the fait accompli of the invasion and the ongoing occupation, with the ultimate goal of sovereign equality and the two-state solution. Tonight, being at the heart of Hellenism, I want to reiterate with all emphasis that the Greek Cypriot side remains committed to the form of solution agreed in the framework of the United Nations and is fully prepared to engage in substantive negotiations, under the auspices of the United Nations, to reach a solution. At the same time, however, I reiterate in every direction that there are limits to the concessions and compromise that we can accept. Cyprus is a Member State of the European Union and no one should expect us to go along with a false and moribund settlement that would amount to two states or would not allow the citizens of the Republic of Cyprus to enjoy basic human rights.
Our vision, therefore, sustainable, resilient and achievable is to achieve a viable and workable solution that will truly reunite our land and our people. Such a solution will be a glorious success for all of us, it will be above all the key ingredient for a healthy and hopeful future for our children, in a modern European homeland, free of barbed wire, occupation troops and anachronistic guarantees. Let us all aim for this success together, united, and let us not look for winners and losers. As long as there is no solution, we are all losers, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
Strongly, then, and unitedly, we must all stand by this truth and project it in a clear way: our priority is the solution, reunification, peace, security and the well-being of all Cypriots and legal residents on our island, and for all this we must continue our efforts together, in earnest. Anything other than reunification will not ensure the interests and peaceful future of the Hellenic Cypriots. There is no room for discounting this truth.
We cannot change the geography. Neither can we change the power factors of third parties. But we can and must continue to strive, using and strengthening the tools at our disposal, to help shape the conditions through which Cyprus can once again become, in its entirety, a place of stability, security, prosperity and real peace.
In 1953, George Seferis wrote prophetically in his iconic poem "Salamina of Cyprus", as if in response to the intentions of the leaders of Turkey:
The earth has no crickets
to take it on their shoulder and leave
nor can they, however thirsty
sweeten the sea with half a dram of water.
And these bodies
Made of a soil they know not,
Have souls.
They gather paraphernalia to change them,
They cannot; they can only dig them out
If the souls are stripped.
And of course, ladies and gentlemen, souls do not dry up, just as the culture and history of this long-suffering land, which will be blessed and see better days, as it and its inhabitants deserve.
Thank you all for your presence tonight, which reinforces the messages of perseverance, reunification and hope that this fine event sends. But your presence and welcome also reinforce a feeling that I carry with me from my teenage years: Cyprus is not far away as it is in the hearts of our Greek brothers and sisters."
(RM/EP/NZ)
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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