Statements by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL A.Kyprianou after the laying of wreaths at the Monument of Democracy and Resistance
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 7th December 2020, Nicosia
It is our obligation, but also an honor to fulfill an important duty today towards our homeland, towards Democracy and the Republic, towards the people who defended both Democracy and our homeland. Regrettably the betrayal committed on the 15th July 1974 against Cyprus with the coup d’état led to the opening of the back door and ever since our country continues to be under the occupation of the Turkish army. Our country is still facing huge problems and we have been struggling since then to liberate and reunite it. We therefore consider it our duty to pay tribute to all those who defended Democracy and the Republic, but also our homeland, many of whom sacrificed their very lives, while others lost members of their families as missing persons. I want to sincerely express our gratitude to the resistance fighters who are here with us today in this modest ceremony to honor the Democratic Resistance.
Of course, our duty does not end by merely honoring the Day of Democracy, the resistance fighters and paying tribute to them. We consider it our obligation to continue the struggle to liberate our homeland, to reunite it and create those preconditions where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will live peacefully and harmoniously in our common homeland, the Republic of Cyprus. This is the first debt we owe to all those who gave their lives for Democracy and the homeland.
We also have a second big duty. At long last, the State must understand that it must honor those who resisted the treacherous coup d’état and those who gave their lives defending democracy and the homeland. Unfortunately, we live in an age of absurdity, where the protagonist of the great betrayal committed in 1974, namely Grivas, is honored, while the resistance is hardly ever mentioned by the State itself. I am referring to the government, of course, but also to the mass media. It is therefore our duty to work to restore the historical truth as well.
I want to say one more thing. Today, unfortunately, under the pretext of the pandemic – but permit me to say, and because of the government’s pervasive mentality – we are following, witnessing an attempt to restrict the democratic rights of Cypriot society. Anyone who expresses a different point of view from the government ruling forces faces an attempt to either stigmatize or silence him/her. We will never accept such a development. It is our duty to defend our people’s democratic and human rights and I want to make it very clear that we will be at the forefront of this struggle too.
I conclude by saying that it is both a debt and at the same time an honor to pay tribute to the heroes of the resistance, those who fought for democracy and the homeland. And we will honor them more effectively only when we manage to reunite our homeland.
