After centuries of slavery and subjugation to foreign tyrants, and carrying their historical heritage heavily, the young men of Cyprus take their fate into their own hands and revolt against British colonial power, reaffirming their determination to achieve the Union's age-old desire for unity. with Greece, states in his message for the anniversary of April 1, 1955, the Minister of Education, Prodromos Prodromou.
According to a relevant announcement, the determination of the Greeks of Cyprus to shake off the foreign yoke, which for centuries deprived them of the right to freedom and self-determination, begins from the first moment of the arrival of the British on the island in 1878. The dream of the Union remains alive and feeds the militancy of the Cypriots, culminating in the events of 1931, the well-known October events. In response, he adds, to this spontaneous uprising, he adds, the British are removing all elements of liberal rule and have since applied a brutal and brutal dictatorship, Palmerocracy.
The demand for self-determination of the peoples is generalized worldwide after the end of the Second World War and the world-historical reorganizations that it brings, the Minister notes. However, despite the catalytic allied aid of Greece on the side of the British and the massive voluntary participation of the Cypriots in the British army during the War, the colonialists again deny any talk of liberating Cyprus, he continued. "In the face of these data, the Greeks of Cyprus, with the referendum of 1950 and the overwhelming 97% recorded, are re-claiming their request for Union with Greece. But this effort, like any other effort to resolve the problem diplomatically, falls into a vacuum and undermines British intransigence. "
The undertaking of the armed struggle is now a one-way street, says Mr. Prodromou. "With the call of the military leader of the struggle Georgios Grivas on April 1, 1955 and with the political guidance of Archbishop Makarios III, the volcano of Cyprus erupts and its fire spreads from one end to the other. "The mountains of Macheiras and Pitsilia resound with the weapons of the fighters, the towns and villages are shaken by the old flame that grows in the souls of the fighters, the vast majority of whom are young children, unfamiliar with the tactics of war," he added.
According to him, "conditions are adverse and difficult, the youth of Cyprus are fighting from the hiding places with primitive means against the mighty enemy and are sacrificing themselves on the scaffolding, writing daily glorious pages of Greek courage, militancy and self-sacrifice."
"They obey their duty and respond to the demands of history, in order for their effort to succeed and to appear worthy of previous heroic figures of Hellenism. "The model of the National Polygenesis fighters of 1821 was alive in front of them and guided them", he adds.
The youth of Kolokotronis and Nikitaras, the sacrifice of Papaflessas and Karaiskakis, the self-denial of the Souliotes and the Messolonghi, inspired and led the steps of Afxentios and Pallikaridis, Zakos and Lena, Ka Drakos. The sacred oath in the organization of Cyprus, the legendary EOKA, was the culmination of the initiation into the Struggle and the taking of action, in the same way that the oath of the Friends and the High Priest rose in the struggle for Faith and Homeland, notes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
There is a great anti-Greek war in the Education of Cyprus during the years of the Struggle, says Prodromos Prodromou, with systematic reductions in the teaching hours of the Greek course in favor of English, with the unnecessary expulsion of Greek teachers, the frequent closure of schools, arrests and student admissions. The heroic Battle of the North Library remains historic, where the students of the Pancyprian High School prove once again that the Greeks can not stand slavery and teach lessons of patriotism across the length and breadth of the earth.
The EOKA Struggle, the Minister notes, achieved the liberation of Cyprus. "The goal of self-determination - Union may not have been achieved afterwards, but Cyprus became an independent state. We must defend the independence and integrity of the Republic of Cyprus today against Turkish expansionism. "While being inspired by the ideals of the National Liberation Epic of 1955-59, we must continue to strive, through political means, for the achievement of a nationally acceptable and functional solution to the Cyprus problem, through which the occupied territories of our country will be liberated." ends up.