The state condemns in the strongest possible terms everyone who tried to abolish democracy by armed force, giving Turkey the excuse it was seeking to invade Cyprus, President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of the coup d' état in Cyprus, stressing the imperative need of safeguarding democracy.
President Cristodoulides noted that as this day marks another sad anniversary of the dreadful events of July 15, 1974, of the treacherous coup d' état and the overthrow of the legally elected President of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, we recall the words of our national poet Dionysios Solomos that those who hate each other do not deserve freedom.
He added that 'the state honours the memory of the heroes sacrificed to defend the Republic of Cyprus during the treacherous coup d' état of July 15, 1974, and at the same time condemns in the strongest possible terms everyone who tried to abolish democracy by armed force, giving Turkey the excuse it was seeking to invade Cyprus'.
Christodoulides said that 49 years after the coup d' état, our non-negotiable duty to history is to preserve the memory of what happened and safeguard democracy, adding that memory 'travels' in time as a historical imperative for everyone to work and walk together.
Turkish troops invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974, five days after the legal government of the late Archbishop Makarios III was toppled by a military coup, engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece.
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