DERINEIA: President Christodoulidis inaugurated the Municipal Library (PICTURES)

The inauguration of the Municipal Library of Deryneia "Adam Adamantos" was performed this afternoon by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis. It is about the renovation of the building of the former SPE Deryneia, a project that has been co-financed by the European Union (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014-2020) and by the Republic of Cyprus, through the Local Development Strategy of the Fishing Areas of the Development Company of Larnaca and Famagusta , Priority 4 "Increasing employment and territorial cohesion". The total cost amounts to €553.448,55 including VAT.

This is the speech of the President of the Republic:

"It is with great pleasure that I participate in today's event, to celebrate the opening of the Municipal Library of the akritic Municipality of Deryneia, which bears the name "Adam Adamanos".

Adam Adamatos, - as a historian I have studied his activity - a historical, political personality with multi-level activity in our country, is one of the most elite children of Deryneia in modern history. Great philologist and one of the best orators of our country. He graduated from the Philosophical School of the University of Athens and taught Greek at the Greek High School of Famagusta and at the Teaching College in Morphou and Nicosia. One of the most important and educated politicians of the last decades of the British rule, he was a founding member of AKEL in April 1941 and elected Mayor of Famagusta from 1943 to 1953, winning three consecutive elections. He spearheaded political, social and national demands in the difficult 1940s, was a member of the 1950s 'People's Embassy' that promoted the results of the union referendum abroad and did not hesitate to disagree with his party's official line, paying a price for it. His untimely death, at the age of 55, found him at the seat while he was teaching and deprived Cyprus of an independent and unbound voice, which did not count any discipline in the face of the interest, in what he himself considered the interest of the homeland that he always supported with impudence.

And, yes, we can say with certainty that if he were alive today, in the first years of Independence and later, he would be one of the protagonists of the political life of our country. But the most important thing is not that they say good things about you or praise your action when you are in life. The most important thing is what is happening tonight, what the Mayor said, what the poets aptly said through our popular tradition about his action, the recognition of what he has contributed to our country.

The project we are inaugurating tonight – and I consider the decision of the Mayor and the Municipal Council to give the name of Adamos Adamatos to the Library – which bears the name of an enlightened man, concerns the renovation of an old building, located in the core of the Municipality of Deryneia, as absolutely appropriate. which has been transformed, evolved into a modern multi-space for study and cultural events.

In fact, in the near future, the space will also be transformed into a modern building in terms of technological equipment - and this is where the state will come as a helper to strengthen this effort - which can be used by organized groups for seminars, lectures , presentations, but also as a place of study and work. And as I have been informed by the Mayor, it is already being used for City Council meetings.

The project aims, among many others, to give impetus to the area for development and to create suitable conditions for the residents of the wider area. It provides infrastructure for research, intellectual cultivation, upgrading the quality of life in an area that develops in some conditions, we must admit, which are not the most ideal, they are not so favorable. On the one hand is the occupation and the city of Famagusta which stigmatizes Deryneia, stigmatizes the wider area, the city where we lost our properties as the Mayor said.

We have lost nothing and we are here to do everything possible so that we can reunite our country and this is not a slogan. This year marks 50 years since the barbaric Turkish invasion, 50 years of occupation and we cannot afford to withdraw from this effort to reunite our country.

And as someone who was born during the invasion, my first contact with the closed city of Famagusta was in 1985 when I visited Deryneia for the first time. I remember very distinctly in 1985, at the age of 11, visiting Deryneia to see my brother who was serving in the 611th Infantry Battalion here in Deryneia, from Paphos where we had come to see him, and it was the first contact with the enclosed city of Famagusta, with the occupation. And I want to repeat on the occasion of this new effort that is starting timidly, that all of us have an obligation to do everything possible to reunite our country and this will be the best memorial for all those who offered to our country, like Adam Adamantus.

The project we are launching tonight will also upgrade the services provided to the entire population of the Municipality and the wider region, will create new jobs and upgrade the level of education of the wider population. And it is important, because it targets all age groups in different ways, and will approach their needs, hosting actions according to the requirements of the population group it aims to serve.

As a result of the implementation of the Local Development Strategy, the renovation of the building we are in tonight through the operational program "Sea 2014-2020", unfolds the multitude of possibilities provided to us through the use of innovative facilities and the surrounding area, thus covering or filling a large gap in the Municipality and the wider region.

In addition to what I have mentioned above - and I completely agree with the spiritual concerns of the Mayor, especially in today's era dominated by social media with all that they bring - knowledge is spread through these spiritual centers, which is the springboard for any development . Even economic development should be based on such springboards, as should social evolution.

But the most important thing is that, in combination with the rest of the projects that have been put into motion, it functions additively in the course of development presented by the Municipality of Deryneia in recent years with the important work carried out by the Mayor and the Municipal Council. I know the requests very well and for some of them their resolution or the development of specific projects has already been set in motion.

On behalf of the State, I express my great satisfaction, since the creation of the library in question is also a result of the special interest shown by the previous government, as well as with our own contribution, for the realization of the vision set by the Mayor from the first moment.

The Mayor reminds me of the restless spirit of Adamanos with his interventions and with what he occasionally writes in the daily press.

In closing, I want to once again warmly congratulate my friend the Mayor and the members of the Municipal Council. I record what the Mayor said about the unanimous decision to name the Library. It is something that particularly honors you, both you Mr. Mayor and the members of the Municipal Council, but also in general for the continuous and targeted efforts you make to revitalize the Municipality and improve the standard of living of the citizens.

I am sure that the Local Authority, in full cooperation with the competent bodies and the Services involved, will continue to work for the well-intentioned interest of the citizens."