The unveiling of the renovated Monument to the Fallen and Missing Savior was officially held today, Sunday, August 7, by the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Overseas Affairs, Mr. Fotis Fotiou.
During the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Resurrection of the Savior, Mr. Fotiou delivered the memorial speech, in which he stressed that a Turkish solution with guarantees is inconceivable.
Afterwards, the unveiling of the Monument was performed by the Mayor Sotiras, Mr. Georgios Takkas and the Commissioner of the Presidency, Mr. Fotis Fotiou.
In a short greeting, Mayor Sotiras stated that the decision of the Municipality of Sotira to renovate the monument was imperative, due to the effort of the Municipal Council to highlight and promote the monuments and the proper honor to the heroes and prominent men of Sotira. He stressed, at the same time, that the rich history of the Savior needs to be highlighted.
During the ceremony, a flame was lit by the Reserve Paratroopers of the Savior and an Invitation to the Fallen and Missing, while a prayer was returned by the priests of the Community.
During the unveiling, Mayor Sotiras handed over the national symbols, Greek and Cypriot flags to the oldest representative of the relatives of the fallen and missing, Mr. Panagiotis Anastasis, father of the hero Christofis Anastasis.
The band of the Catechism Meetings Sotira, under the direction of Iakovos Koumis, participated in the event.
It is worth noting that the sculptor Filippos Giapanis undertook the implementation of the monument and the non-profit design by the artist Sergis Sergiou. The elaboration of the studies made by Eleni Oikonomou was also non-profit. The supervision was undertaken by the Technical Department of the Municipality of Sotiras, while the implementation decision was taken by the Committee of Monuments of the Municipality of Sotiras, in collaboration with the Committee of Relatives of the Fallen and Missing, the Church of the Savior and the School Ephorate of Sotiras. The event was organized by the Culture Committee of the Municipality of Sotira. The first monument was erected in 1984 by the Committee of Relatives of the Fallen and Missing Savior and the Savior Catechism.
Fotis Fotiou: An unthinkable solution with Turkish guarantees
A solution with Turkish guarantees for a member state of the European Union is inconceivable, said today the Commissioner of the Presidency, Fotis Fotiou, noting, at the same time, that the path for the success of our goals in the ongoing negotiations is not easy.
"Our side is making strong efforts in every direction, so that the negotiations pay off," said Mr. Fotiou, speaking at the annual national memorial service for the six victims of the 1974 Turkish invasion of the Municipality of Sotira, at the Church of the Resurrection, where a prayer was also offered. for the five missing of the Savior.
"In any case, the Government and personally the President of the Republic will support all the rights and entitlements of our people, given the new role that Cyprus can play in the region and beyond," he said.
The solution, he noted, must be a functional and viable solution, to ensure the reunification of our homeland, the withdrawal of the occupation troops and settlers, the right of return and the implementation of fundamental freedoms and other human rights. A solution based on international law, the Charter and UN resolutions, as well as the principles and values of the European Union.
At the same time, the Presidential Commissioner expressed the support of all in the struggle of the families of the missing. "This tragic situation, which causes so much pain and anguish to thousands of our compatriots, is not only unacceptable, but also inhuman. It is a challenge to civilized humanity and to all of us. The failure to resolve this humanitarian problem and the continuation of the ordeal and tragedy experienced daily by the families of our missing is due solely to the attitude of the occupying power, Turkey. "This country is responsible both for creating the tragedy of the problem of the missing and for the lack of progress in the efforts to solve it", said Mr. Fotiou. He noted that "from 1974 until today, Turkey is still not cooperating and constantly promotes obstacles and tactics in any initiatives taken to achieve progress."
"We are not satisfied with the results and the pace of the CMP," he said. The occupying power, he noted, "has a moral, political and legal responsibility and obligation to finally cooperate with a sincere disposition and humanity, in order to give the families of the missing the convincing and substantiated answers that are entitled to the fate of their own."
Forty-two years have passed and Sotira is carrying her own martyrdom, counting her dead and missing.
SotiraNews / ΚΥΠΕ