Speech of Aristos Damianou, member of the Political Bureau of AKEL and AKEL MP, at the political commemoration in honor of the Hero and Martyr Sotiris Adamou Constantinou
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 12th July 2016, Nicosia
“Because he refused to submit to the law”, as the verse of the Mikis Theodorakis anti-fascist song says.
That’s why the coupists murdered Sotiris.
That’s why a mother lost her son and Cyprus acquired a hero.
This verse captures exactly what happened to Sotiris Adamou Constantinou.
We honor him because he refused to submit to fascism! Because he took the path of honor and dignity.
In writing history Sotiris proved that there is always a choice to be made and everyone follows his/her own choice and is judged accordingly by it.
Others chose to side with the fascists and the coup d’état, whilst others stood on the side of democracy and legality.
On that black day of 15th July 1974, the day of the coup d’état, Sotiris, serving in the Army Special Commando Forces (LOK), received an order to attack the law-biding forces that were defending democracy and democratic legality. That is to say, he received an order to attack all that he believed in, against his principles, values and ideals. He disobeyed the order. And history was written. However, it wasn’t written correctly. Certain forces and circles remained silent for years. Some covered their crime with a veil of silence and included Sotiris among the losses sustained by the armed attackers against Democracy and the Republic, among the losses of the perjury traitors.
It took many years of struggle, a particularly painful journey, waged by his family, which confronted lies and evasions, until some people began to finally speak up; until a full investigation was ordered. What the family of Sotiris already knew was subsequently proved beyond any doubt in 2007 through scientific methods. That is to say, that Sotiris was not a coupist, that he didn’t attack the resistance fighters, that he didn’t betray his consciousness and that he did not lose his life in the criminal battle against Democracy. He was executed in cold blood, shot in the back indeed at close range and also stabbed in the back by Greek officers.
His family knew. They were sure from the very beginning because they knew Sotiris. They knew who he was. They knew his ideals, principles and the universal values with which he was raised.
Moreover, both Sotiris and his brothers, were raised from an early age with the values and traditions of the Left within the ranks of the Local Club of the People’s Movement of the Left in the Ayios Dometios neighborhood of Nicosia.
In the course of the investigation other testimonies from soldiers of his unit came to light; testimonials about the tortures, beatings and terrible psychological and physical punishment he suffered during his military service. And he suffered all this because he was and belonged to the Left, because his brother was a footballer in the progressive football and sports club of “OMOMOIA” and therefore he was considered a “dangerous person.” This was the situation in Cyprus in those dark and harsh years of the Greek Junta, Grivas and EOKA B ‘.
His family were vindicated by their long struggle. The State officially recognized the sacrifice of Sotiris by including him in the list of the heroes of the Resistance, but the crime that was committed remained unpunished. The murderers can even today be counted among those who are trying today to falsify and revise history, to distort the historical facts, to erase what happened from our people’s collective memory and to cover up the shameful acts and crime committed.
That is precisely why we must not forget what took place. The past should be our compass for the future. We must convey the truth to our country’s young generation, because those who lived the events themselves know.
Today however the consciousness of the young generation, who did not live the 1974 events, is being targeted. We need to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
And we must talk clearly about who the traitors and the heroes are, about the idea of the homeland, but also about the danger of extreme “national-mindedness”.
Nationalism – chauvinism and the exploitation and abuse of patriotic feelings has only brought disaster and devastation to this country. We should be teaching that patriotism isn’t judged by words and slogans, but in practice at the critical moment.
And all this should be done, not to divide, nor to seek revenge but because the old saying that “people who do not know their history are doomed to relive it” applies.
We should do so because the sad and bitter truth is that in this country we have so many heroes because we were unfortunate enough to also have traitors – not some handful of “foolish persons” as the Right-wing likes to conveniently say.
Thanks to the struggles of our Party, but also of other democratic forces, for many years we left behind the years of the criminal activity of the extreme right, fascist mentalities. But this gain of ours must be continuously defended and safeguarded. Fascist elements in the guise of supposed super-patriots, sickening nationalist mentalities have once again appeared and are getting organized and issuing threats.
Our duty is to be vigilant against these disturbing phenomena and to guard democracy through political means.
At such moments there is always the risk of repeating ourselves. But perhaps we should repeat ourselves because only by doing so do we defend historical truth, which is being hidden or distorted.
The double crime committed in the summer of 1974 was the culmination of the imperialist interventions in Cyprus, with the help of the Greek Junta, EOKA B, Grivas and many others. This is now officially recorded in the Finding of the “File on the Cyprus problem” which was commissioned by the House of Representatives. And because in this way we will convey the correct position that the tragically betrayed brave sons and daughters of our country, our heroes will find vindication only with the liberation and reunification of our country and people.
Our Party is fighting with consistency to make this perspective a reality.
The path of the solution is extremely difficult, but we must take it. It is difficult because of the Turkish intransigence. But we must be ready, armed with our long-standing positions, International Law and the UN resolutions.
The solution that we are working for must reunite our country and people, evolve the 1960’s state into a federal state.
It must ensure a single sovereignty, a single citizenship and a single international personality; respect human rights; provide for the complete demilitarization and the abolition of the guarantees.
Experience teaches that foreign interventions in the internal affairs of states only bring suffering and dependencies.
This is the solution we as AKEL are striving for.
We demand that the President of the Republic for this solution without any deviations and regressions.
Comrades,
It is a great honor to be here today to honor Sotiris. This is not just an obligation on this anniversary, but a duty every democratic person owes to pay tribute to Sotiris Adamou Constantinou and all the other heroic brave fighters of Cyprus.
Today the family and friends of Sotiris are entitled to feel proud because he demonstrated and proved his patriotism through his actions and deeds; because in our history’s turbulent periods, when the circumstances and our homeland required heroes, Sotiris answered while others betrayed this call.
Eternal honor to the memory of Sotiris Adamou Constantinou and all the other of our tragically lost comrades!
Honor and glory to our Heroes!
