In the context of organizing Panhellenic Events of Memory and Return of the Due Honor to the heroically fallen in favor of Freedom, the Municipality of Veria, in collaboration with the Association of Cypriots of Imathia "EVAGORAS, organized a Memorial Event - Commemorative Of the Cyprus Tragedy ”in Vergina.
The event took place in an emotionally charged atmosphere, in the presence of political and military authorities as well as the public.
Greetings were addressed by the Secretary of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Theodosis A. Tsiolas, the Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus in Thessaloniki, Mr. Spyros Miltiadis, followed by the Mayor of Veria, the President of the Association of North North Greece President of the Association of Cypriots of Imathia, Eleni Psarra, who could not hold back her tears during her speech.
After the end of the greetings, there was a minute of silence and the National Anthem was played.
The event ended with the Choir of the Cultural and Educational Association of Vergina "OI AIGES" with soloist Mrs. Fotini Kanellidou under the direction of Eleni Anagnostou.
Speech by the Secretary of the Council of Ministers Mr. Th.
It is with great joy and emotion that I am with you today, here, in the holy land of Macedonia, in the homeland of Philip and Alexander the Great. I convey the love and brotherly feelings of the Government and the Cypriot Hellenism to all the inhabitants of Imathia - Cypriots by origin and Greeks - and I express our gratitude for the support of the entire Greek people in the varied historical course of our island. Special thanks to the Association of Cypriots of the Prefecture of Imathia "O Evagoras" for the honor of the invitation and the realization of this modest ceremony, as well as the Municipality of Veria, the Federation of Cypriot Organizations of Greece and the Consulate General of the Republic of Cyprus in Thessaloniki for the whole event.
Since 1976, when Manolis Andronikos with his excavations identified the ancient Aigai with the area of Vergina and proved that the most brilliant of the discovered tombs belongs to King Philip II of Macedonia, Greece acquired one of its most powerful weapons against the Greekness of this sacred land and falsify history for selfish purposes. The "Macedonian nation" of Herodotus had its first glorious capital here, spoke one of the ancient Greek dialects and from here Alexander the Great began with the rest of the Greek army to conquer and Hellenize the world. The brilliant contribution of Macedonia to Greek history continues uninterrupted until recent years. Pavlos Melas and the other heroic young men of the Macedonian struggle gave their lives for the liberation from the Turkish yoke and the Bulgarian oppression and were justified in 1912, when Thessaloniki and all of Macedonia were liberated and became part of the Greek state.
Cyprus, in a parallel way, walks from antiquity its historical path through conquerors, sacrifices and struggles, culminating in the Liberation Struggle of 1955-59 which, led to the independence and the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, which, despite the blows suffered, remains our mainstay.
The black summer of 1974 indelibly marked its history with the coup of the Athens junta and its collaborators in Cyprus against the elected President of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, after giving Turkey an alibi to implement its divisive plans against Cyprus. With its barbaric invasion of the island, it spread death and destruction everywhere. The dead, the missing, our heroic cages, the thousands of our compatriots who became refugees in their own homeland and the continuing illegal occupation of 37% of our ancestral lands, the settlement and looting of our occupied land and our cultural heritage dramatically compose the bitter scenario of the Cyprus problem.
Every year on such days we commemorate and pay tribute to those who - Greek Cypriot and Greek brothers - fought and fell for freedom and the Republic of Cyprus. We bow reverently and with awe to their sacrifice, to the sacrifice of all those who have sacrificed their lives in the struggles of the nation, and we emphasize our duty to learn from our passions and to educate the new generations, so that they may continue vigorously the struggle for freedom, democracy and dignity.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We want to live in a truly free Cyprus, without guarantees and troops, without barbed wire of hatred and division. We envision a free and reunited homeland, a Cyprus of peace, democracy and justice, where all basic human rights are guaranteed and guaranteed.
Our concern was and always remains the continuation of the struggle for the defense of the Republic of Cyprus, the full verification of the fate of each missing person and the finding of a just, viable and primarily functional solution to the Cyprus issue, which will ensure the reunification of the country. and the complete independence and sovereignty of our homeland.
A solution, fully compatible with our capacity as a Member State of the European Union but also with the best practices of the democracies of the UN and which will create those conditions and conditions that will allow lasting peace in our country, away from any foreign dependencies and anachronistic guarantees, giving all Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots the right to live in a normal state, in conditions of security and prosperity.
As you may know, the President of the Republic has already very recently sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations requesting his intervention in order to resume the negotiations from where they left off in Crans Montana.
At the same time, however, we must point out that the resumption of talks cannot take place without the lifting of Turkey's provocative actions in the Cyprus EEZ.
The European Union itself has sided with us in this effort, and with its recent reference to the European Council Conclusions warns Ankara that any continuation of its illegal actions is not only unacceptable but will provoke a reaction in practice. measures against Turkey, which, by the way, is a candidate for EU membership.
For our part, I would like to convey the strong will of the President of the Republic to respond to the challenge of historical responsibility and to do everything possible to create the conditions for a safe and peaceful environment in Cyprus and in our wider region.
In this direction, we have - and I want to thank the Greek Government for this - always on our side the solidarity, the selfless and continuous support of Greece.
Aware of the difficulties that our country is going through, we must make today historic decisions that will determine the future of our country. To strengthen the faith in the law of our struggle and to nurture our children with the eternal values and ideals of our race. To preserve our historical identity, our Greek education and our Greek language, our Orthodox faith, our traditions and our culture. We must walk with collectiveness, sympathy and consensus, in order to achieve the reunification of our place. Let us have as our guide the memory of all those who fell in favor of faith and homeland and exude virtue, bravery, morality and mental valor.
Greek women and men,
We owe today, the Greeks of Macedonia and all of Greece and the Greeks of Cyprus, to continue our struggle together in an honest and politically correct way, so that situations like those that led to the tragic events of 1974 are not repeated.
Our debt to the missing persons of the Cypriot tragedy and their families, who have endured and continue to endure their drama for 45 years now and to whom the grove in which we are now dedicated is reverently dedicated, let us delimit our steps.
Macedonia, Cyprus and all Hellenism have the right to live and will live better days.
With information and images from verianet.gr