CYPRIOT war veterans held a sombre gathering yesterday to pay tribute to the millions of people killed during WWII.
Some 30,000 Greek and Turkish Cypriots joined the British regiment to fight against fascism. Two-and-a-half-thousand were captured and around 600 killed. They are buried in 49 cemeteries in 18 countries.
Addressing surviving war veterans on Sunday, House President Demetris Christofias said victory against fascism was the result of a very harsh and bloody battle, which left millions of people dead and crippled.
“The Cypriot people did not hesitate at all in siding with the colonial power at the time, Britain, to fight the threat against humanity. Cyprus paid a hefty price for this in the number of those killed,” he said, pointing out that the joint anti-fascism effort by Greek and Turkish Cypriots is proof of the common battles they have fought and peaceful coexistence.
“Cyprus has not been vindicated. Britain denied the country the right to self-determination and after an anti-colonial war, it gained conditional independence,” he recalled, and went on to point out that “it did not survive for too long either.”
“Your generation carried on its shoulders the heavy burden to save the entire world from fascism and you have achieved this with great success. We take lessons from you and draw strength to continue our struggle for peace, cooperation and justice in the world,” Christofias said.
President of the Cypriot Veterans Association, Loizos Demetriou, now in his 80s, said that efforts were under way to compile a registry of Cypriot volunteers in WWII, which included 800 women in auxiliary services and 10,000 Cypriots living outside the country.
Demetriou said that efforts are also being made to record information from witnesses for posterity.
“During the draft, we believed that fighting with the Allied forces meant fighting for our freedom and that of Greece, which at the time was under German occupation,” he said.
“The fact that London did not keep its promises to Cyprus does not detract anything from the sacrifice of all the volunteers who fought for the prevalence of freedom and democracy. Cyprus should feel proud.”
