“Our missing persons are without a doubt the most tragic aspect of the 1974 tragedy” the Minister of Health noted among others >Determinism for verificationof fate and of the last missing person expressed the Minister of Health, Michalis Damianos, on behalf of the President of the Republic, at the annual national memorial service of the hero Savvas Antoniadis and the prayer for finding the missing person Takis Christodoulou, held on Sunday morning in Iolou.
“Our missing persons are undoubtedly the most tragic aspect of the 1974 tragedy. Despite the obstacles that the Turkish side constantly poses, which refuses to cooperate and submit accurate and sufficient data, we will not stop fighting for a moment until the final resolution of this humanitarian problem, said the Minister.
Mr. Damianos assured “ that we are determined to use all our strength to ascertain the fate and the last missing person. We owe this especially to their relatives, many of whom have already passed away with unanswered questions about the fate of their own people.
He added that fifty years after the Turkish invasion, the goal remains unchanged. remains the liberation and reunification of our homeland. “With determination and faith in our justice, always consistent with the principles of the solution of the Cyprus problem, we expect that Turkish intransigence will finally be bent and we will return to the negotiating table,”, he said.
He noted that the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulidis, has submitted credentials of sincerity and determination for the resumption of talks, undertaking specific initiatives that will bring Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side to the negotiating table. “Despite the extreme and unacceptable positions of the Turkish Cypriot side, we will remain committed to our position to find a comprehensive settlement of the Cypriots on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation, as provided for in the resolutions of the United Nations, he said.
< p>He noted that the solution will provide for an end to the occupation, any foreign dependencies and colonization, will provide for the reunification of the state, institutions and the economy, for the restoration of human rights and basic freedoms of the entire people, stating that “ anything less clearly cannot be accepted”.
Referring to the two heroes, Savva Antoniadis and Takis Christodoulou, he said that they stood with incomparable bravery against the superiority of the Turkish invader, in the tragic days of July 1974.
At the age of 23, with the start of the Turkish invasion, Savvas Antoniadis was assigned to the 187th Infantry Regiment as a reserve and took part in the military operations with the Squadron in the Athalassa Gerolakko area. With the beginning of the second phase of the Turkish invasion, he was presented at the Police Station at the Paphos Gate. He remained in the area of the Paphos gate where he fought with the 336 T.P. until August 16, 1974. On August 16, 1974, he was transferred together with eight other comrades-in-arms to a police station in the “Palloukia” area of Agios Pavlos-Nicosia. He fell heroically fighting when his Outpost was hit by the invading Turkish troops on August 17, 1974.
Savva's remains were buried without any recognition in the Lakatamia cemetery. Later his bones were identified by the DNA method. His funeral was held in his hometown of Giolos on Saturday, April 8, 2006.
The missing Takis Christodoulou, with the beginning of the invasion on July 20 and while his Unit was still in the camp, was bombed by the enemy air force, as a result of which he was injured in the head and taken to the hospital in Nicosia, where he was given First Aid. However, demonstrating maximum self-sacrifice, he returned to the Kyrenia area to defend his homeland.
During the second phase of the Turkish invasion, on August 14, 1974, Takis Christodoulou, along with his fellow fighters, was in the area Koutsoventi, then ending up in the village of Voni, which had been occupied by the Turks, at the house of Mrs. Frosos Dimos.
On the morning of August 15, armed Turkish Cypriots appeared outside the house and started shooting. As soon as the shooting stopped, the 35 soldiers surrendered to the armed Turkish Cypriots. 10 civilians surrendered with them. All those arrested were taken on foot by the Turkish Cypriots in the direction of the Turkish village of Epicho and their fate has been unknown since then.
Source: cyprustimes.com
