HUNDREDS of friends and former comrades in arms gathered in a Nicosia church yesterday for the funeral service of one of the most controversial figures in Cyprus’ recent history.
Newspaper publisher and EOKA veteran Nicos Sampson died on Wednesday at the age of 66 in a Nicosia clinic.
Sampson, a hero to some and a traitor to others, will be remembered most for taking over the presidency after the 1974 coup that ousted President Makarios.
The Panayia Pallouriotissa church yesterday proved too small for the hundreds of people who had gathered to bid a final farewell to a man many consider to be a prime example of patriotism, and who was the only person punished for his part in the coup.
In a eulogy read by former Health Minister Manolis Christofides, Sampson was described as a man who would sacrifice everything for his country he loved so much.
Sampson was made the scapegoat for other people’s actions, Christofides said, adding that he became the only person condemned to bear the heavy burden of the tragedy suffered by the Cypriot people.
No representative of the government was present at the funeral, although DISY chief Nicos Anastassiades and other party deputies paid tribute to Sampson.
President Glafcos Clerides was represented by his daughter Katy.
Sampson and Clerides were close friends and together, along with several others, they founded the Enieon Metopo party, which later evolved into DISY.
Clerides’ decision not to attend the funeral drew criticism from many mourners.
After the service, Sampson’s son Sotiris delivered a fiery speech in which he vowed to continue in his father’s footsteps until the island was reunited. Sotiris Sampson is standing as a DISY candidate for Famagusta in this month’s House of Representatives elections.
Light rain fell outside the church as the pall bearers made their way through the crowd, which burst into applause.
Born in Nicosia in 1935, Sampson studied journalism in Athens and fought against the British in the EOKA struggle from 1955 to 59.
In 1964, Sampson led an armed group which took part in the intercommunal strife, most notably freeing Greek Cypriot residents from the besieged Nicosia suburb of Omorphita.
He was elected deputy for Famagusta in 1970 at the age of 35.
In 1977 Sampson was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the coup.
In 1979 then President Spyros Kyprianou allowed Sampson to travel to France for medical treatment.
He remained in exile until 1990, when he returned to prison for a few months before being released.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
