Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, has said that it is the duty of everyone today, as a minimum tribute to those who lost their lives or are still missing, to respond, through unity and collective action, and honour them by liberating Cyprus, getting rid of the occupation army and reuniting the country.
In a statement after attending an official memorial service at Makedonitissa Tomb, a military cemetery in Nicosia, for the army officers and soldiers killed during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 1974, Anastasiades, said that 42 years have passed without forgetting what happened and that the memories are still alive.
This was a dreadful day for Cyprus, marked by the treason of the (Greek) Junta and the invasion of Turkey, said Anastasiades, who was escorted by Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides.
The ceremony was attended by other state officials, representatives of the Church, the army, the police, political parties, as well as dozens of relatives of Cypriots and Greeks who were killed or went missing in 1974.
President Anastasiades and other officials from Cyprus and Greece laid wreaths at the monument, while a minute of silence was observed and the police band played the national anthem.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island. Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, have been engaged in UN-led talks since May last year, with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.
CNA/MK/GV/2016
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY