The honorary President of EDEK, Vassos Lyssaridis, passed away at the age of 101.
Vassos Lyssaridis was a Member of Parliament, Founder and President of EDEK as well as President of the House of Representatives.
Vassos Lyssaridis was born in Lefkara, on May 13, 1920.
He attended the primary school of Lefkara and then for two years the upper school of Lefkara and continued at the Pancyprian High School in Nicosia.
He studied at the Medical School of the University of Athens where he graduated with honors. He practiced general medicine and was President of the Medical Association (1967-1981). During his student years he was the Chairman of the Pan-Student Committee of the Cyprus Struggle, the Secretary of the Coordinating Committee of Cyprus Associations and the head of the National EAM of Cyprus. Huge rallies were organized and the Cyprus issue was promoted as a national claim.
He took part in the national liberation struggle of E.O.K.A. (1955-1959). As a representative of EOKA, he voted against the Zurich-London agreements because he believed that they legitimized Turkey's civil-military involvement with our co-signature, he relied on racial discrimination, and because the constitution was dysfunctional and would lead to serious impasses. . After the coup in Greece and the imposition of a military dictatorship, he collaborated with the resistance organizations of the Greek people against the junta and mainly with the PAK led by Andreas Papandreou. He led the resistance against EOKA B and against the coup of 15 July 1974 and the coup d'etat. At the leadership meeting (legal and illegal) in the G.D.P. On August 15, he canceled the signing of the Gunes plan in the presence of several dozen uniformed gunmen and insisted that legitimacy would return only with the return of the legitimately elected Archbishop Makarios. The weapons fell silent. However, on August 30, an assassination attempt was made against him in which the militant poet Doros Loizou was killed. He continued the fight against the coup until the return of Makarios. He was continuously elected Member of Parliament from 1960 to 2006 and in the period 1985-1991 he was Speaker of the Cypriot Parliament.
In 1969 he founded the Socialist Party EDEK, of which he was President until July 2001.
He was honorary president of the Movement and a member of the National Council. He had excellent relations with the Arab world, and with many other progressive leaders and peoples fighting for freedom and independence. He was in favor of an independent Palestinian state.
He has been Vice President of AAPSO since 1961. The African-Asian Movement. (Afro-Asian Solidarity Organization) was a massive non-governmental organization with national committees in more than 90 countries in Asia and Africa, and with support committees in Europe and Latin America.
He was secretary general ICSA (International Commission against Racial Discrimination and Mandela's Release)
He made countless trips and sessions in Europe on this subject and to raise money but much more for political and moral support of the movement as well. He had relations with the African national liberation movements and the leaders of the national liberation movements. He was particularly associated with Neto, Gabral, Motlane, Samora Massiel, Marcelino Do Santos, Castro, Arafat and others.
He led the campaign against the Annan plan.
Poet, painter, Vassos Lyssaridis left his mark on all aspects of the history and life of his place.