Services held throughout the island to remember invasion

ON THE 32nd anniversary of the 1974 Turkish invasion, memorials and other events were held throughout the free areas to pay tribute to those lost during the war.

Air-raid sirens sounded at 5.30am, the time at which Turkish troopes landed on the island’s northern shores. At 8.30am a memorial service for the army officers and soldiers killed during the invasion took place at Makedonitissa Tomb in Nicosia, in the presence of President of the Republic Tassos Papadopoulos. Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Kassimis and Ambassador of Greece in Cyprus Demetrios Rallis were also present. Wreaths were laid after the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Foreign Minister George Lillikas said that the Greek Cypriot side ”desires a solution to the Cyprus problem as soon as possible but will not sacrifice the solution’s quality and viability on the altar of time.”

”We will in no case accept a solution that will turn Greek Cypriots into second-class citizens and offer intervention rights to a third country or place the Republic of Cyprus under custody,” Lillikas said, adding that ”the solution must secure the rights and freedoms of all legitimate inhabitants of Cyprus and must be balanced, functional and viable.”

At 12 noon, church bells tolled for about 15 minutes, while throughout the day, various other anti-occupation events took place.

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.