We bid farewell to Christoforos Konstantinos Tzionis

AKEL announces the death of its veteran militant, Christoforos Konstantinos Tzionis, who passed away today at the age of 92.

Comrade Christoforos Tzionis dedicated his entire life to AKEL, which he served as a member for 75 consecutive years. A child of a poor peasant family and a construction worker from a young age, he joined the ranks of our People’s Movement of the Left, the Progressive Youth Organisation (AON) and the Construction Worker’s Trade Union. He participated in the building worker’s struggles to establish a 44 hour working week, for social insurance and in the great strikes waged in 1948.

During the period when AKEL was banned by the British colonial regime, comrade Tzionis took over as interim General Secretary of the illegal AON Youth organisation and at the same time guided groups struggling underground in illegality to organise demonstrations, write slogans on walls and disseminate AKEL’s informative materials. He also played a pioneering role in the great struggle for the legalisation of the Party in 1959.

From the declaration of Cyprus independence and for decades afterwards, he worked as a full-time Party militant in the Party Bureau for countryside areas, the AKEL Nicosia District Organisation and the Central Committee.

Comrade Dervis Ali Kavazoglou, who was targeted by the chauvinist Turkish Cypriot ultra-right in those years, lived for a long period of time in the house of Chr. Tzionis. During the period before the coup d’état of 15 July 1974 Chr. Tzionis worked to expose the plans of EOKA B and the Greek Junta against democratic constitutional order and Cyprus. Christoforos Tzionis was a member of the Central Committee of AKEL for decades.

Christoforos Tzionis stood out for his faith in communist ideology and the ideals of the working class, for his dedication to the people and the Cypriot Left. He belongs to the generation of AKEL members and militants who – overcoming all kinds of trials and hardships – managed to forge our Movement’s strong ties with the people and workers of Cyprus.

AKEL with respect bids farewell to comrade Christoforos and will honor his memory with our struggles for the people and our Homeland. AKEL expresses its sincere condolences to the wife and the entire family of comrade Christoforos.

The funeral of Christoforos Konstantinos Tzionis will take place on Thursday, February 24 at 11am from the Holy Church of St. Demetrios in Acropolis, Nicosia.

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