Cyprus Update: President Nicos Anastasiades says minimum tribute for fallen is to reunify Cyprus

Cyprus: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades speaking after attending an official memorial service at Nicosia’s Makedonitissa Tomb in honour of army officer and soldiers killed during the Turkish invasion on July 20, 1974, stated 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.”   

Anastasiades who was accompanied by Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides added that; 

“This was a dreadful day for Cyprus, marked by the treason of the [Greek military] Junta and the invasion of Turkey,”

The ceremony was also attended by other state officials, representatives of the Church, the army, the police, political parties, including dozens of relatives of Cypriots and Greeks who were killed or went missing during the 1974 invasion. 

Anastasiades and other Cyprus and Greek officials laid wreaths at the monument, while a minute’s silence was observed in honour of the dead.  

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish military invaded the island.

Both leaders of the divide, Cyprus president Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have been engaged in reunification talks since May 2015, in a view to reunify the island under a federal government.
Source: CNA