The sacrifice of Kavazoglou and Misiaoulis: a symbol of struggle

 

For a free, united, and peaceful Cyprus, without any foreign guarantors or troops!

For a Cyprus where the people will be the masters!

11 April 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

11 April marks the 61st anniversary of the sacrifice of the two AKEL militants who were assassinated in 1965 by the nationalist far-right Turkish Cypriot organization TMT: the Turkish Cypriot member of the Central Committee of the Party, Dervis Ali Kavazoglu, and the cadre of AKEL and class trade union federation of PEO, Costas Misiaoulis.

The murder of Kavazoglou and Misiaoulis, just like other crimes that were committed by the chauvinists in both communities, sought to undermine the joint struggles waged by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots for peaceful coexistence in a common homeland, for democracy and social justice.

At a time when the far right is on the rise and nationalists continue to sow discord between the two communities, Derviş Ali Kavazoğlu’s response rings truer than ever before: “Perhaps the tree of friendship has been shaken; perhaps the branches and leaves have bent and fallen. However, the trunk remains upright and its roots lay deep in the earth, spreading out to raise the wounded plane tree even more proudly tomorrow.”

The bullets may have silenced their own voices, nevertheless Kavazoglou and Misiaoulis, embraced together both in life and in death, have become the symbol of the Cypriot people’s common struggle against foreign imperialist interventions and nationalism, in favour of a solution to the Cyprus problem, on the agreed basis and framework, which will put an end to the occupation and reunite our homeland and people.

For a Cyprus of peace and friendship, without any foreign guarantors or troops.

For a Cyprus where the people themselves will be the masters.