“They were born in the same month, the same year, they were very close friends, like-minded and 'left' the same year and the same day, September 2, 2021. Their acquaintance goes back to 1960. While some consider this to be coincidental, “I believe that as they walked together in life, in the struggles for peace, democracy, global disarmament, the youth movement and later in the wider popular left movement, so it seems that they decided to walk together in death as well”, stresses Andreas Christou , former Mayor of Limassol, at politis.com.cy on the death of composer Mikis Theodorakis and journalist Panikos Paionidis.
Both were “created” in harsh conditions. Both very strong personalities were created under the harsh conditions of life and the country. Mikis in the Occupation and the EAM Resistance and Panic in the conditions of British Colonialism. Who was Panikos Paionidis (1) He studied at the English School in Nicosia and in October 1942 he joined the Cyprus Volunteer Force, and served in Egypt and Greece. After his demobilization he became secretary of the newly formed Union of Cypriot Apostates and in November 1946 he went to London to study. At the same time he was working for the London newspaper Vima. In 1948 he went on a journalistic mission to Greece, where the civil war was raging. He then went to Sofia where he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University there. Paionidis was also one of the most prominent journalists in Cyprus in the first post-independence years, while he belongs to the small group of colleagues who were the first to rush to join the Cyprus Writers' Union, as soon as the organization was registered as a union in June 1960 and remained for many years an active member. He served as general secretary and president of the United Democratic Youth Organization (EDON). He also served as general secretary of the Pancyprian Peace Council and president of the Artists for Peace Movement.
He refused to fight against EAM-ELAS and was imprisoned . As a very good connoisseur of the English language he received the rank of sergeant and in the period of 1944 he served in Greece. Note that, it was the same period that Theodorakis was fighting with EPON, against the British invasion and the subjugation of the popular movement (December). Panikos refused to obey the orders of the British to take part in the strikes against ELAS and EPON, resulting in imprisonment. In other words, the parallel lives of the two men started from that difficult period for the Greek people “, Mr. Christou tells us.
There remained behind a desk with quite a few adhesives The Panicos Peonidis was an unprecedented combination of writer, author, critic, journalist, editor of newspapers and also a very capable politician, despite his involvement with culture did not stay behind a desk with a Penny and some paper glues, says Mr. Christou, adding that “he was in the front line of the political struggles. He was also a very active man in the field of theater and contributed to the creation of the THOK and during the reign of Basil he was appointed president. He was a man with many interesting excellent knowledge, excellent knowledge of English and Russian. “I was lucky enough to work next to Panikos for several years and get to know him very well, appreciating his virtues”, he stressed.
According to the former Mayor, “he leaves a gap behind him like the other spiritual people of his time. Of course, he succeeded and emboldened the thought of the popular fighter in relation to the intellectual writer, to a large group of people who, to the best of their ability, continue this presence in the wider space of the left “.
Apart from artists, they were deeply politicized. “The case of Theodorakis is somewhat parallel, since the same recognized and great composer was the leader of Lambrakis' youth, in very difficult conditions. He co-existed, he inspired the movement by listening to his daily problems. “These people faced their time, realizing that communism cannot be absent from the struggles and that there can be no real cultural flourishing unless there is a social background that supports culture and creators.” “Even culture is not a political act? Since it affects the way of thinking of very few people. For example, Picasso was not a loud politician, but with his work he was an exponent of the anti-fascist spirit of that time “, underlines Mr. Christou. The advice he gave “He advised me to write the speeches. He always spoke from a text despite being a natural orator. He had a serious Marxist education, but he had the ability to popularize, as he was an excellent speaker. Panic was very approachable and helped many writers find their place by encouraging them. He is perhaps the first to develop film criticism in Cyprus. He traveled every summer to follow the developments in the field of culture, making very important friends “.
Mikis Theodorakis, Giannis Ritsos, Louis Aragon, Nazim Hikmet His wife, the writer Elli Paionidou, is from Vasa Koilaniou. At home in the village were hosted from time to time very important personalities, such as Mikis Theodorakis, Giannis Ritsos, Louis Aragon, Nazim Hikmet, but also dozens of other friends who found refuge there. “Then Vassa rose to the consciousness of all, as a place of intellectuals and artists. Conferences and discussions took place there. He was a fighter, not noisy, but his effort paid off and his contact with the world and especially the young people had results “, says Mr. Christou.
The majestic concert of Theodorakis in Tsirio in 1975 The connection of the great composer with the island of Cyprus is known. Let us remember that he chose Cyprus, in 1964, to present in the first world performance the emblematic work of AXION ESTI. After the Metapolitism and the tragic events of the coup and the invasion, Mikis Theodorakis came to Cyprus and Limassol many times. The municipality of the city honored him by giving him the “golden key”, during the mayoralty of Dimitris Kontidis. “We did not talk much in private, but I was in a small group of people next to him. For example, when he came to Cyprus for the first concert he did in 1975 in Tsirio, I heard him talk and talk about the various issues that concern the world. The second time we happened to come together was when the Municipality of Limassol around 2000, which had already operated the Rialto, under Dimitris Kontidis, invited him to Cyprus and honored him with the “golden key” of the city. At that time I was the parliamentary representative of AKEL and various MPs were invited and I was next to Mikis who commented on various issues. He was a man with incredible knowledge, endless humor, an exuberant man where there was inexhaustible wealth that emerged, among other things, through his political action, but also through his music “, underlined Mr. Christou.
Honorary membership of AKEL As a token of appreciation for his long-term contribution to world culture and his struggles for Cyprus and the world as a whole, AKEL on October 11, 2005 awarded him the 80th anniversary of the CCP-AKEL and the Award Cultural Offer “Teukros Anthias- Thodosis Pieridis”. He was the first non-Cypriot creator to be awarded this prize. “Then the party decided to pay tribute to Mikis Theodorakis for being a member of the party. So we consider him a very own person. Like any great cultural factor, it cannot move in absolute factional and political events. There were disagreements with the party, but with his last letter to the Secretary General. “Dimitris Koutsoumbas of the KKE did what we all thought he was”, stressed Mr. Christou, adding “like Panikos Paionidis, who left AKEL in 1990. I never felt that our paths parted. I knew his logical identification with the Marxist principles, hence shortly after his departure he appeared mostly to support party positions. As Theodorakis wrote in his political will, “the small are set aside and the big remain” γή source: CITIZEN RUN and POWER Group: Enhanced Living Experience.
