“No matter how many years may pass, we will defend the historical truth”
AKEL honored the heroes of the anti-fascist Resistance
Saturday, 27 January 2024, “Haravgi” newspaper
Almost fifty years after the twin crimes of the fascist coup d’etat and Turkish invasion in 1974, AKEL once again honored the heroes of the Resistance with an event held last night by the “Marathona” local club of the mass organisations of the Left in the “Tsiakkillero” refugee settlement.
The keynote speaker was Nikos Ioannou, a member of the Political Bureau of AKEL, who, taking as his starting point the appointment of a pro-Greek junta apologist and supporter by the President of the Republic to the Board of Directors of the Technological University, denounced the attempts underway to whitewash the responsibilities of fascism in the destruction of Cyprus.
“The debate flared up on the internet. Some even wondered ‘why must we still deal with these issues’, ’why are we still going on about things that happened in 1974, ‘how old was this man in 1974’ and that the President ‘won’t appoint him because of his political beliefs – is that democratic?’
Let all those who raise these questions come to the refugee settlements, to confront the mothers clad in black who rush to the Anthropological Laboratory to pick up at least one bone of their beloved child in a box to bury it.
Let those with the pictures of Grivas and the Junta come – if they have the courage to do so – to hear the stories of Misiaoulis, Evagorou, Flourentzos, Papalazaros, Kesta and Christofi.
Let them come to learn about those who sacrificed their lives for our homeland, about Theodosiou, Stylianou, Leontios, Loizou, Ioannides, Karasamani, Kourtelli, Theodosiou and so many other heroes.
Let them come and stand before you, before us, to hear the stories of Vladimiros in Larnaka, Malas in Varosha and Karpazitis in Derynia, who was dragged through the streets tied to a tractor in the coup d’etat, the ordeal suffered by Mesaritis, Anastasis, Tziambazis, Hannas, Kekkos, Minas, Kouzoupis and I don’t know how many others.
“They should understand why fascism is not an opinion in democracy, but poison and blood”, N. Ioannou stressed. The AKEL cadre sent a clear message that what the fascists provoked in Cyprus, who have blood on their hands, will never be forgotten.
Addressing their political descendants: “Almost half a century has passed. They hope that the people’s memory will fade.” N.Ioannou made it clear that this would not be allowed to happen: “No matter how many years pass, we will insist on defending the historical truth. We will insist on remembering the heroic battles waged by the Resistance. We will persist in courageously calling the heroes, heroes and the traitors, traitors” he asserted.
