President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades called for unity in the interior, to address important national challenges, in difficult times for the country.
While defending the survival of the Cypriot people in their homeland, our top priority remains the liberation and reunification of our country, along with the termination of foreign troops and guarantees, said the President in an address, read on Tuesday by the Director of the President’s Press Office, Andreas Iosif, during an event of the Committee for the Register of Resistance Fighters, to commemorate Democracy Day, the 200th anniversary since the Greek Revolution and renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, who passed away last September.
“To repay this debt to past, present and future generations of the country, we will continue to fight with all our forces,” the President noted.
He lauded the work of the Committee, founded in 2001, which, he said, managed to convey the importance of the struggle of Resistance fighters during the 1974 coup d’ etat, instigated by the Greek military junta, and to raise citizens’ awareness on the value of Democracy, with Democracy Day being celebrated on December 7 each year.
The date was selected because Archbishop Makarios III returned to Cyprus on December 7, 1974, after the coup and the Turkish invasion that followed earlier that summer.
He said that efforts concentrate on a solution that will create a “truly independent and modern state” whose sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order will not be limited by an anachronistic system of guarantees or the presence of foreign troops.
We are fighting for a solution that will ensure the functionality and viability of the state, allowing all citizens, regardless of their ethnicity, to coexist with mutual respect and be able to live in conditions of peace, stability and security, the President added.
The President also referred to the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, noting Cyprus’ contribution to this fight as an “integral part of Hellenism.” He also noted that Mikis Theodorakis has been a “musical genius” and an ardent supporter of the Cypriot struggle.
SOURCE: CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY