On the occasion of the Easter holidays, the President of the Republic Mr.Nicos Christodoulides visited the outpost of the National Guard at the end of Ledra Street, accompanied by the Minister of Defence Mr. Michalis Giorgallas, the Chief of the National Guard Lieutenant General Demokritos Zervakis and the Deputy Government Spokesperson Mrs. Doxa Komodromou.
During his visit there, the President of the Republic signed the visitors' book of the Outpost.
Speaking to the soldiers, President Christodoulides said that "I am here to wish you a Happy Resurrection, but also as a sign of recognition of your service.
Our country is one of the few countries where the institution of compulsory military service still exists. In the past it was 26 months, for officers 29 months, today it is you with 14 months of service. It is important and it is an obligation on our part that these 14 months be productive.
I think you are in a region where, in addition to the training that all our National Guardsmen receive when they join the National Guard, serving in this place and seeing the occupied Nicosia opposite you has a special symbolism.
Addressing the young people, the future of our country, I want to say that our effort is to create such facts, such conditions, which will be clearly better than what we are experiencing today. In order to achieve this, what is required is first and foremost the liberation and reunification of our country.
That is why you should be proud to serve in the National Guard, you are also contributing to this effort that we are making. Despite the problems, despite the difficulties and the many disappointments, we are here to fight, to create the facts that will finally allow us to have optimism based on real facts so many years later.
I referred to the dimension of the occupation. There is another dimension that relates to the fact - this touches more on the permanent members of the National Guard - that we are an EU member state.
Given the facts that exist today, with asymmetric threats, terrorism, many other dangers that a state has to be able to deal with, the strengthening of the deterrent power of our country, and not only our country, will continue. I would like to acknowledge the work that has been done in recent years, both at the political and military level.
This effort will continue and will be strengthened even more, because the Republic of Cyprus, as a member state of the EU, but also in a region of particular geostrategic importance, must and we have the obligation to have deterrent power.
We must be guided by the history of our country. And I want you to know that you too, with your service and especially in this outpost, in this battalion, are writing part of the history of the Republic of Cyprus."
(PM/EF/SX)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
