August 14, 1996 σαν Twenty-seven years have passed since then…
The sacrifice of Solomos Solomos stigmatized me, as did every Cypriot and Greek, young and old, who lived close to those sad events. I remember the whole of Paralimni flooding the cemetery to say goodbye to another worthy child, even though I was still five years old . A child who gave his soul to take the cloth of shame off the web.
Solakis, as his friends called him, left with a cigarette on his lips, closed his eyes forever, leaving to thousands of young people, a legacy that will last for many years.
Three days after the assassination of Tassos Isaac and after his funeral, many of our fellow citizens decided to move again to Deryneia and the roadblock, to lay a wreath in his memory. Among them is Mr. Giannis Koligliatis, a cameraman from Greece or better a man who became a Cypriot that day.
Mr. Giannis had arrived in Cyprus for the first time, being a man on a motorcycle before the assassination of Tassos Isaac. He had then suggested to Reuters where he worked as an associate, to cover the course of motorcyclists. Then they asked him as he tells us, "what are you going to do in Cyprus?" In the end, however, they approved his request and wished him this trip worthwhile.
Read the interview as he gave it to the REPORTER:
Riots also took place in Nicosia
He recalls that he went down to watch the rally at Eleftheria Stadium on August 11, 1996. When the president of the motorcyclists announced to the participants that after a meeting with the president, it was forbidden to continue the march, which resulted in the first fights.
"This decision added fuel to the fire, because there was already tension during the march from the beginning. "Near the Old Nicosia Airport, the protesters lit some fires, but the worst had happened in Deryneia with the murder of Tassos Isaac".
Three days later, Tassos was buried and then the motorcyclists started a new march to the Deryneia roadblock. Upon their arrival, they were not allowed to lay wreaths at the spot where the hero was brutally murdered.
"From the moment Tasos Isaac was assassinated, no one could respect this order. We followed the course of the protesters. The dead zone was violated, there were stonings from our side ".
"I met Solakis; he was unstoppable"
During the riots, Mr. Giannis met Solomos who confessed to him - as to some others - that he wanted to lower the flag of shame. "There I had the good fortune to meet Solomos. I was standing next to him when he said I was going to climb the flag. I tried with others to stop him. He did not take from words. When I saw him running - since I am aware of such situations as I have worked in war zones, such as the Yugoslav war - I knew they would not let him climb the flag and we could have done the same otherwise. He left with the cigarette in his mouth. He was determined and in the end we all know what happened in the end ".
"The Turks were ready…"
He said he chose to stand in a corner, to the left of the protesters, near the United Nations regulator, for security reasons and directly opposite the pseudo-state flag. "I was cool before the murder and I took some pictures. The Turks were ready, they opened some canals for snipers, embankments and prepared for a long time in case they needed to develop forces. "Their special forces had been deployed."
In fact, he characterizes the presence of the peacekeeping forces as typical, since, as he explains, they did not find strong resistance to get as far as they reached, but the passion of the Greek Cypriots could not be stopped by the peacekeeping forces. "When the fire broke out I thought it was plastic but when I realized it was real watching Solakis fall, I started running and stumbling on people who fell to the ground to be saved.
There was a sea of people at the funeral. Greeks everywhere were mourning. It was the only mission I did, which had a patriotic stigma. When I was in other wars I did not have to do anything for my fellow citizens. In this case it had to do with patriotism. The events bent me ".
Perpetrator and victim in the same shot
"It was the most tragic moment I have ever captured." This was the conversation of Mr. Giannis which really came out of his soul and I say it because you felt it from the need of his voice. From the need of a man who has gone through the work of wars, such as the one in Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Israel, Lebanon and Iraq.
"They were late in giving us the body. There were also wounded peacekeepers for this and the members of the United Nations did not intervene.
I remember, in the same shot I had the perpetrator and the victim. "Agriculture Minister" Kenan Akin was at the window and executed Solomos. I did not see it at that time, I saw it when it was shown. Such scenes are scenes that are only achieved in the cinema. After the body was taken out, the medical examiner and then MP Marios Matsakis tried to give first aid, but they found five cups on his body, if I am not mistaken, and then he was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
This was for him the first time he came to Cyprus. It was that time that tied him to the island and made him feel like a Cypriot, which is why he has maintained ties with our country ever since.
"It was my first arrival in Cyprus, I did not want it to be marked by events but it made me feel Cypriot. Since then I come constantly. I stayed in 1997-98, when the conversations were. For me it is my second home. I have been doing business since 1996 in Cyprus, with two companies ".
Mr. Giannis's plans went around the world that day and for this he was awarded a few months later, by the journalism promotion institution Athanasios Vassilios Botsis.
These plans will accompany us forever!
During the conversation he was upright and repeated several times that the shots recorded by his camera that day were not for commercial purposes, while he explained that he was ashamed that singers like Notis Sfakianakis show these shots in nightclubs.
Giannis Koligliatis experienced first hand what happened that black summer in Cyprus and experienced it through his lens.
The shots he made twenty-seven whole years ago show the moment of Solomos' assassination by the conquerors. These are plans that accompany and will accompany for years, teaching the younger ones and reminding the older ones what happened then.
Mr. Giannis's shots were the ones that stigmatized me, but also everyone who saw the video.
Source: REPORTER