Cyprus marks Ochi Day

A number of liturgies and school parades are taking place on Friday to mark the Greek resistance against the Axis powers during WWII when Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas rejected the ultimatum given by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940, who had demanded the Axis Powers enter Greece to take up strategic positions.

President Nicos Anastasiades attended the liturgy in Nicosia, carried out in St John’s Cathedral in the presence of the Greek Ambassador Ilias Fotopoulos, Education Minister Costas Kadis and a number of political and military officials.

WWII veterans, school and university students, scouts, refugee, cultural and sports associations will parade at 11am along Vyronas Avenue, outside the Greek Embassy, to marches played by the National Guard and police bands.

Anastasiades on Thursday sent a telegram to Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to mark the day. In it he expressed the appreciation of the Cypriot people for the continued support from Greece on the Cyprus issue. “I am convinced that the excellent cooperation between our countries and governments at all levels will continue to give decisive impetus to achieving our common goals,” he 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.