Upbeat message for Turkish invasion anniversary

By George Psyllides

CYPRUS will rise again as it did in the past under worse circumstances, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Saturday, on the anniversary 39 years ago of the Turkish invasion that split the island.

Amid the worse economic crisis in decades, Cyprus marked the anniversary of the Turkish invasion on July 20 1974, five days after a Greek junta-engineered coup to overthrow president Makarios.

“We have lived through similar and even worse (conditions) in the past and we managed to stand on our feet,” Anastasiades said after a memorial church service in Nicosia for those killed during the invasion. The service was conducted by Archbishop Chrysostomos II and also attended by Defence Minister Fotis Fotiou, top military personnel and other officials.

“Now too, we will stand on our feet,” the president said.

The president stressed that Cyprus was moving in the right direction and voiced certainty that its problems will be overcome through coherent policy and collective action “but also with the support of society”.

Earlier Saturday, Anastasiades attended a service at a military cemetery in Macedonitissa where he placed a wreath.

“Today we honour those who gave their life, (and) those who are still missing, to keep our country, the Republic of Cyprus, alive so that it can fight for its liberation,” Anastasiades said.

The Greek government said settlement of the island’s political problem was its highest priority.

In a message to mark the anniversary, Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos stressed Greece’s firm support for Cyprus noting that the current economic difficulties faced by the two countries will not change this stance.

“Ending the occupation and its consequences, the reunification of Cyprus through a just and viable solution, based on the UN decisions and Cyprus’ participation in the EU, remains the goal of Greece,” Venizelos said.

 

 

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.