President Nikos Christodoulides emphasized the humanitarian nature of addressing the missing and fallen from the Turkish invasion during a speech at the repatriation ceremony of the Greek fallen from the 1974 invasion. Today, seven of the previously missing fallen were buried at the Tomb of Makedonitissa, with the remaining eight scheduled to be buried in Greece tomorrow morning at the Elefsina Air Base, in the presence of Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.

President Christodoulides paid tribute to Greek soldiers who came from Greece to defend Cyprus during the Turkish invasion, highlighting their contribution to sovereignty and unity. He acknowledged that each funeral for fallen Greek Cypriots evokes memories of the 1974 invasion, underscoring the sacrifices made and the enduring impact on the nation’s collective memory.

Also, expressed a growing determination to continue the struggle for the liberation and reunification of Cyprus. He emphasized the national pride in repatriating fallen soldiers’ remains to their homeland and burying others in Cyprus, quoting Thucydides to underscore the significance of their sacrifice. He reiterated that the core of their efforts is humanity, emphasizing the humanitarian approach to addressing the issue of the missing and fallen during the Turkish invasion. Additionally, he highlighted the government’s duty to inform the relatives of identified soldiers in collaboration with the Hellenic National Defense General Staff.

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President Christodoulides underlined that, “We owe it to Kratimenos Anastasios, to Analytis Georgios, to Tsitiridis Konstantinos, to Iliopoulos Panagiotis, to Touli Ilias, to Martzakis Georgios, to Tsangkalidis Konstantinos, to Iliopoulos Ioannis, to Christopoulos Alexios, to Xanthopoulos Athanasios, to Koukoularis Christos, to Binakis Georgios, to Boureka Asimakis, to Chio Fragkos, to Sarlian Charalambos. May their memory be eternal. Their names are immortal in the history of our homeland, in the history of the entire Hellenism,” he concluded.

A wreath-laying followed on behalf of the relatives of the fallen, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, the Archbishop of Cyprus Georgios, the Chief of the National Guard Georgios Tzitzikostas, and the Chief of the General Staff of National Defense General Dimitrios Houpis, the Ambassador of Greece to Cyprus Ioannis Papameletiou, the President of the Panhellenic Committee of Missing Persons Maria Kalmpourtzi, and the President of the Pan-Cyprian Organization of Relatives of Missing and Undeclared Prisoners Nikos Sergides. Subsequently, the burials of those fallen whose families chose to be buried in Cyprus at the Tomb of Makedonitissa in Nicosia took place.