It is our duty and obligation to join forces in order to end the current prolonged impasse and to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem, said the Minister of Defense, Michalis Giorgallas, addressing on Saturday a memorial service for those fallen during the Greek Cypriot anti-colonial EOKA movement in the 1950s.
Speaking at the Church of Agios Minas, in Neo Chorio, Paphos, the Minister said that for 49 years the Cypriot people have been experiencing the disastrous consequences of the Turkish invasion and occupation, while searching for the fate of the missing persons. A Cyprus solution would end the Turkish occupation and division of the island, liberate the homeland and guarantee a future of progress, peace, security, cooperation and mutual understanding for all Cypriots.
“The present, unacceptable, situation can not be the future of our country and that is why we will fight with all our strength until the end, to reverse it”, he said, noting that this is also our debt to those who are being commemorated and to all who gave their lives for freedom and for the country’s defense.
The memorial service commemorated Vasos Panagi, George Anastasi and George Stylianou.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency