Eulogy of Aristos Damianou, member of the Political Bureau of AKEL and AKEL MP, at the burial of the remains of reservist soldier and missing person Petros Georgiou

 

8th November 2015, Mitsero village, Nicosia district

 

Fellow Compatriots,

Dear Family of Hero Petros Georgiou,

 

This year forty one years will have passed since the double crime committed in the summer of 1974 and the sun of justice that we are longing for has yet to dawn. It is always difficult for someone to talk about heroes… There is always the danger that we don’t manage to pay tribute to the magnitude of the sacrifice made, nor to comprehend the suffering of not knowing what happened to your beloved one – sons, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, fathers and mothers. The enormity of the sacrifice made to take up arms in such a struggle that was betrayed against a much greater and powerful enemy – because the enemy was not only Turkey, but also the betrayal and treachery committed. Pain, anger, rage and resentment are just some of the emotions that all those who lived the double crime committed feel – the double crime of the fascist coup d’état and the Turkish invasion.

Today’s duty is very heavy. The references go back 41 years, to the summer of 1974, to that black summer that was to change the course of our homeland’s history. The black summer of 1974 that was to lead to a lasting and permanent loss for the family of Petros.

In such moments there is always a danger of repeating ourselves. And yet, perhaps we should repeat ourselves…We must continue to denounce those guilty of treason; to denounce the ongoing attempt to erase historical memory, as well as the attempts aiming at the falsification and distortion of the historical truth. We must not forget either those who fought and sacrificed their lives for their country, nor those who betrayed the homeland. We must not forget the past, mistakes and our history – not to divide, but to help prevent similar acts being committed again in the future.

A people who do not know their history are doomed to relive it. Especially today, this government is trying in every way to paint a different picture of the Right and extreme right back then. Today, they are provocatively trying to glorify Glafcos Clerides so as to turn him into a National Leader. The necessary respect for a deceased person does not also entail forgetfulness and amnesia. Glafkos Clerides headed a political spectrum which took under its wings and gave cover to those who executed and participated in the coup d’état. This political faction honours the traitor Grivas who fought against Makarios; a faction which developed on the rotten foundations of anti-AKEL mania and anticommunism and which cultivated nationalism, chauvinism and manipulated pseudo- patriotic rhetoric. Bearing this mind, this is the reason why the provocation is great, especially when we are still burying heroes, the victims of the treachery and double crime committed.

For forty one years, our people have been counting their wounds. One of the most tragic aspects of the crime committed against our country is that of the missing persons. Despite the efforts that were and are being made to ascertain their fate, nonetheless for many other families the pain and distressing question as to where their beloved ones are remains. Turkey will be judged whether as a result of its recent decision to expand the Committee on Missing Person’s access to another 30 regions in the occupied areas it will cooperate in practice for an end to this human tragedy.

Today, after so many years, the time has come for the family and friends of Petros Georgiou to learn, be redeemed and to pay homage to their beloved one…

Petros was born and raised in the village of Mitsero and was one of five children of the family of Georgos and Elpida, a family of toiling workers earning a simple living. His father was a worker in the mines. The family had two daughters, Frini and Nafsika and two other sons, Panicos and Andreas. The remains of Petros’ brother Andreas – also a missing person for 40 years – were recognized through DNA and his remains were buried only last year, passing into history as a hero. This is a heavy price and toll on a family. The two tragic parents are not among us today…They lived for years with the hope of finding their sons, but did not manage to learn with certainty the fate of their children, to give them a proper funeral as they deserve. Petros father passed away in 1988 and his mother in 1998.

During that black summer of 1974 Petros was 33 years old. He had a wonderful family with his wife, Lenia, his daughter Panagiota 5 years old and his son Georgos who was just 2 years old.

Petros Georgiou was an active youth, filled with dreams. He was the Secretary of the         AKEL Local Party Organization in the village of Mitsero. He left his family behind, responding to the call of the homeland in order to fulfill his duty. Others did not do so… The last time his family saw him was on 13th August when he returned briefly home from the frontline to see his family. On 14th August he left again for the front. He fought with his Battalion in the region of Karavas and Lapithos in the Kyrenia district. After the retreat, as the family later found out, he ended up in the village of Kira in the district of Morphou where along with two other of his comrades he was captured by the Turkish army. It was in this area that his remains were found, the victim of atrocities committed by the Turkish invading army.

Unfortunately the sacrifice of Petros and the other young people of Cyprus have not been vindicated. His sacrifice could not prevent the well-organized crime committed against our country and people. That is why we must not forget what happened. We must draw lessons from the past that will become a compass for the future – to pass on and transmit to the young generation of this country the historical truth. We must do so because today the conscience of the young generation, who did not live the 1974 tragedy, is being target. We need to put the finger on the wound and talk out loud and openly about the traitors and the heroes; about the idea what ​​the homeland is, but also about how dangerous the ideas and ideology of so-called ultra “national-mindedness” are. The modern history of Cyprus teaches us that nationalism-chauvinism, the manipulation of pseudo-patriotic rhetoric have only brought pain and suffering to this country. We should teach that patriotism is not judged by slogans or words, but demonstrated in practice at the critical moment. And Petros, a true patriot, a child of the People’s Movement of the Left, will, today and forever, be a Hero.

Precisely for this reason, let’s not allow the empty and false rhetoric and slogans lure Cyprus into any new adventures. We say no to the occupation. Real patriotism dictates today that Cyprus and its people can and must be reunited; that we must all stand above and beyond petty party considerations and struggle to reverse the faits accomplis created by the Turkish invasion and occupation of our homeland.

Unfortunately today, even after so much suffering and pain, voices are being heard demanding a change of the agreed framework of the solution and for a change in strategy. As AKEL we have repeatedly posed the question without however ever receiving a convincing answer: Let’s say we reject the solution of bi-zonal, bi-communal federation right now. However, what will we subsequently be seeking and with whom on our side? The only result of such an act would be to destroy our credibility internationally and allow the Turkish side to disengage from the agreed basis of the solution of the Cyprus problem. This is how the occupation will be perpetuated.

Therefore, the dilemma is not between a federation and something else. The dilemma is between federation or partition. Certain forces and circles, whether they admit it or not, prefer to let the situation stay as it is and hence we will be led to the partition of our island. However, they do not tell the people what suffering the partition will bring, because for sure things will not simply stay as they are now. If there are political forces that prefer partition, let them honestly and clearly tell that to the people of Cyprus; tell the thousands of refugees who are deprived of their rights for decades; say that to our children, who want to grow up in peace and security. Let’s all understand at last. The non-solution of the Cyprus problem means a dangerous neighborliness with the thousands of Turkish army soldiers and settlers. It means the co-existence next to a formation that will be controlled by Turkey, within our own country. It does not mean, as some quietly say, that “better a half but Greek” country.

The solution we want must reunite our country and people and not institutionalize the separate living of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. We are demanding a solution that will ensure full demilitarization, in a state where its true masters will be Cypriots and only Cypriots. We are struggling for a solution that will lead to a reunified federal state with a single sovereignty, a single international personality and a single citizenship; a solution that will respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, including the right of return of refugees to their homes.

We demand and stress that a reunified Cyprus will have no need of guarantees from foreign states or NATO. Experience teaches us that foreign interventions in the internal affairs of states only cause suffering and dependencies. Consequently, none of all those interested among the international community in a solution of the Cyprus problem cannot expect that we will support such a development.

Talks once again resumed in the summer after a long period and with a new Turkish Cypriot leadership. We must be ready to have concrete proposals, with consistency, sincerity, determination and will. It seems – although belatedly – some previous convergences are being utilized. There appears to be some mobility on the Cyprus problem, but the road is long and there are also obstacles that only Turkey can remove. We therefore need to remain serious and committed to the goal without regressions and deviations. We need to be assertive, based on principles and with pragmatism. Only with the reunification of our homeland will the sacrifices of our young people be vindicated who so unjustly lost their lives and of their families.

Beloved family of Petros,

It is an honor for all of us to be here today to honor Petros. It is not just an obligation, but the minimum debt and duty of every democrat person to pay tribute to Petros, as well as to all those who fell or fought for democracy, freedom and dignity. In the troubled and bitter periods of our modern history, when the conditions demanded heroes, your family too made a huge contribution in defending our small homeland.

Lenia, Panagiota, Georgos and Panicos you can be proud of your husband, your father and your brother because he showed his patriotism in deeds; because he responded to the call issued by the homeland while others betrayed or abandoned our Cyprus.

 

May his memory be eternal….

 

Honor and glory to our heroes!