Cyprus celebrates Greek Independence Day

Cyprus on Friday marked Greek Independence Day with schoolchildren and army personnel taking part in parades in all towns.

March 25, which also is a public holiday in Cyprus, commemorates the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821. Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1453. The revolt began on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Ayia Lavra in the Peloponnese and the cry “Freedom or death” became the motto of the revolution.

Education Minister Costas Kadis said in his message to mark the anniversary that the Greek struggle for independence had inspired Cyprus’ struggle against colinial rule, which will be marked in Cyprus on April 1.

“The revolution of 1821 and the struggle of 1955 have common features, including the love of freedom, the struggle to throw off the alien yoke, selflessness, setting aside of any self-interest for the sake of the common good, and preparedness for any sacrifice,” 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.