The funeral procession of Vassilis Giannakas, a priest-deacon previously missing and killed by the Turks during the invasion of 1974, was performed today, headed by Bishop Karpasia Christoforos.
The procession took place today at noon at the Church of Agios Georgios in Xylofagou.
A Funeral Service on behalf of the Government was delivered by the Spokesman of the Presidency, Fotis Fotiou.
In his speech, Mr. Fotiou said that the deceased "was a victim of Attila's barbarism, but also of the hatred and hatred that Ankara inflicted on a significant portion of the Turkish Cypriots in order to promote its divisive plans against Cyprus."
He pointed out that the bones of Giannakas and six other people "were found in 2017 in the area of the Turkish Cypriot village of Galatia. "All the bones sustained bullet wounds, either to the skull or to the rest of the bones, an indisputable element of the heinous act of the cold-blooded murder of the six arrested, including 17-year-old Solomis Solomou and his father," he said.
He noted that "lately we are witnessing the revelation of the real face of Ankara in terms of resolving the Cyprus issue. "Witnesses to Turkey's ever-growing arrogance that ostensibly refers to the need to find a solution, but in fact seeks our acceptance, not just of the perpetrators of the invasion and illegal occupation, but of bringing the whole of Cyprus under its control."
Ankara's challenges in the maritime region of Cyprus and especially in our Exclusive Economic Zone, he said, "have energized the climate to the point that it seems impossible to resume negotiations under the given circumstances."
Unfortunately, the Presidential Commissioner noted, "Turkish Cypriot politicians, who want to be liked in Ankara, have entered the dance of provocations and tensions, putting forward positions and demands that are completely unacceptable and out of any discussion. "Our side wants dialogue and seeks the resumption of talks, but in conditions and conditions that allow it and make the negotiation reasonable and fruitful."
After saying that "the positions of our side are clear", Mr. Fotiou stated that "we ask for a solution that reunites our country and end the occupation, a solution without Turkish guarantees and rights of intervention, that will transform Cyprus in a normal state, a place of peace, security and prosperity for all its inhabitants, with all their rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed, without anxiety and uncertainty about tomorrow ".
Referring to the issue of missing persons, Mr. Fotiou said that "it is the most tragic aspect of the drama that our country experienced in the summer of 1974 and we will never stop fighting to determine the last case of a missing person. "Turkey's responsibilities in this matter are enormous," he said, adding that "only with restrictions and always under the control of the Turkish army does it allow exhumations in the so-called military zones of the occupied territories, while at the same time denying access to Turkish army files." "where investigators will certainly be able to find the tip for many more cases of our missing."
What's worse, he said, is that Turkey "refuses to provide information on the movement of bones from the original burial sites to others who remain unknown, in order to hide the responsibility for the mass executions of a large number of our arrested compatriots." "The many testimonies and the findings so far show that a large number of our missing people were executed en masse in various places," he said.
Almost forty-four years later, said Fotis Fotiou, "the truth cannot be hidden. It's simple and it should shine. This is a war crime, and as with all war crimes there are no excuses and mitigations, there are no explanations other than the prevalence of irrationality that leads to thousands of unanswered why. In the case of Cyprus, this crime is not instantaneous, as for so many years information has been hidden, obstacles have been projected and responsibilities have been concealed. "
We must, continued Mr. Fotiou, "be fully aware of the tragedy that our country experienced in the summer of 1974 with the treacherous coup and the barbaric Turkish invasion. We must not forget the drama and destruction with the dead, the missing, the prisoners, the trapped, the encroachment of our sanctuaries and saints, the occupation of one third of our land and its illegal occupation, the violent uprooting of the population the mass transfer of settlers from the depths of Anatolia for the deterioration of the demographic character of our island, the destruction of our religious and cultural heritage and the brutal, also an attempt to erase the history and culture that unites us, for centuries now, with every inch of our earth, from south to north and from east to west. "
Famagusta.News / KYPE
