Address by Chrysanthos Zanettou, AKEL Famagusta District Secretary at the commemorative event for Yiorgos Polytechnis
Larnaca cemetery, 7th August 2020
Dear members of the family of Yiorgos Polytechnis,
Dear relatives of our murdered comrades,
Comrades and friends,
The organization of this humble memorial event here at the grave of Yiorgos Polytechnis from the occupied village of Lefkoniko, is our duty, not only in honor of Yiorgos Polytechnis and his family.
It is a debt we owe to the families of all our unfortunate comrades, to their widows and orphans who, instead of yielding before all the attacks against them, did not submit and stood firm.
It is a debt we owe to the then leadership of our People’s Movement of the Left, to AKEL Famagusta Party Organisation in particular, because they endured the days of ordeal and did not succumb and yield to the illegal shameful plans of the British colonialists and to the terror waged by Grivas who sought to create the conditions of civil war in Cyprus.
It is at the same time a debt we owe to the historical truth.
Above all, however, it is our duty to pay tribute to those who paid the heaviest price by sacrificing their lives, but also to all those who were injured, brutally beaten, abused, vilified but who never gave in, nor did they flinch or were they frightened for a moment when they confronted the fascist terror campaign carried out by Grivas.
In our conscience these people, our unfortunate comrades, are vindicated. In 2012 they were vindicated by the state too, after decades of struggle and after a relevant decision approved by the government of Demetris Christofias. We honor them with all the due respect as Heroes Martyrs of the Left who were murdered because they did not abandon their ideals and principles, because they did not succumb, despite the terror unleashed against them by the armed masked men of Grivas.
Comrades and friends,
The district of Famagusta paid the heaviest price for the murders committed during that period and this was not by chance. That is precisely why the District Organization of AKEL Famagusta has a greater responsibility and obligation, but also an honor to pay tribute to the sacrifice of all these comrades of ours.
Responding to this responsibility, the AKEL Famagusta District Committee has decided that efforts and actions should be made to repair all the graves of our comrades in the occupied areas, most of which are in a terrible condition, as well as to hold annual organized visits to the graves of our heroes in rotation, in order to contribute in a practical way to the preservation of their memory.
Today, we are implementing this decision by paying tribute to Yiorgos Polytechnis, from the village of Lefkoniko, who was assassinated in 1958 by Grivas’ masked men. There is no doubt that both Yiorgos Polytechnis and his fellow villager Pieris Afxentiou Pistolas were both assassinated for their political views, as people of the Left, by the extreme right of Grivas, which was trying to exterminate the Left as a political entity, attacking, brutally beating and murdering people of the Left.
The body of Yiorgos Polytechnis was found at the Famagusta Hospital, but his wife and children were not allowed to receive his body from the Hospital and bury him in his village, with the appropriate ceremony. It was picked up by his brothers and he was buried here in the Larnaca cemetery.
At the same time, I would like to announce that we have decided to proceed to republish the book of comrade Michalis Poumpouris “Days of Trial”, a book that was originally published in 1993, was republished in 1999, but today has run out of copies. This book really shook things up and revealed hidden truths about the historical events of that period. It formed the basis for the further study and documentation of all the historical events that led to the assassinations of the militants and members of the Left. We hope that the new edition of the book will be ready in time to be presented at the political memorial event of Michalis Poumpouris, which will be organized by AKEL Famagusta District Committee next November.
Dear comrades and friends,
With this simple and modest event, we remember, but above all we bow our heads before the sacrifice of Yiorgos Polytechnis and all our other murdered comrades. For us they will always be in the pantheon of great heroes and immortals of our Peoples Movement of the Left.
Honor and glory to our heroes!!!
