The 28th memorial service for Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomou, who were brutally killed by Turks in 1996, took place on Sunday in the south-east town of Paralimni. The memorial was followed by the laying of wreaths at the graves of Isaac and Solomou. Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection of the Republic of Cyprus, Dr Nicholas Ioannides, represented the government at the service.
Meanwhile, the government of Cyprus said in a post on its social media accounts that as this year marks 28th anniversary since the “cowardly murders” of Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomou, we remember the “barbaric and brutal face of Attila and the ongoing illegal occupation”.
“Their heroic sacrifice, their unparalleled courage and self-sacrifice, are a timeless beacon in our efforts to end the occupation, reunify our homeland and restore basic freedoms and human rights for all Cypriots,” the government stressed.
Adamos Sergiou, Principal of Paralimni High School, delivered the speech at the memorial service on Sun
day saying that “we pay the due tribute to Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomos who were cowardly murdered in times of peace by the Turkish invaders of our country in August 1996”.
“In the summer of 1996 in the buffer zone of Dherynia, the most dramatic events occurred since the Turkish invasion of 1974,” he said, adding that “the killers have been identified, but no one has been punished for the two heinous crimes of our heroes”.
Meanwhile, the “Isaac-Solomou Remembrance Initiative” organized again this year a bikers’ ride from all the cities of the free areas of Cyprus, which ended on Saturday night at the Paralimni cemetery, where an event was held in their memory.
Tasos Isaac was killed on 11 August 1996 in the buffer zone, in the area of Dherynia, during an anti-occupation demonstration organized by the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation to protest against the continued Turkish occupation of the northern part of Cyprus. He was kicked and beaten to death by a group of 15-20 people who surrounded him and threw him
to the ground. Cyprus Police had issued then arrest warrants against eight people in connection with his murder and requested Interpol’s assistance for their arrest.
Solomou, Isaac’s cousin, was murdered by Turks in August 1996, during an anti-occupation demonstration. He was shot while climbing a flag post to take down the Turkish flag.
The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, has been divided by Turkish troops since 1974.
Source : Cyprus News Agency