The President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulidis sent a message of optimism from the Athienou press on Sunday, assuring that “despite the difficulties, the problems, the challenges we have to face every day due to Turkish intransigence, never, never we are going to withdraw from the effort to liberate our homeland and reunite it”.
The President of the Republic, who was speaking at the opening of the “Nikos Mouyaris” amphitheater hall, of the School Tax Office of Athienou, also mentioned that the Government has again raised the issue of the Pyroios barricade, that the issue of the Health Center of Athienou will be discussed in the Cabinet next Wednesday, as well as a solution will be found very soon to the issue of the €1 million debt of the Municipality.
In his greeting, President Christodoulidis said that “it is with great joy, but also feelings of pride, that I am in Athienou today, to celebrate the opening of the “Nikos Mougiaris” Amphitheater”.
Knowing he said “how decisions are made, the decision of Kostas Kadis to carry out this project was very important. The construction of this modern hall is perhaps the best memorial for a worthy child of Athienou, a pure Cypriot, a cosmopolitan Greek, whom I had the blessing, because it was a blessing, to meet personally in 1993 when I had moved to New York for studies me”.
He noted that “recognizing the value of philanthropy, education and culture, Nikos equated his distinguished career with noble deeds and works of charity, even away from the public eye in most cases, leaving his strong stamp everywhere, and he was particularly proud as a resident of Athienou”.
He noted that “being here, in the uncritical Municipality of Athienou, at an event for Nikos Mouyaris, just a few meters from the occupation barbed wire, which keeps our country divided, I want to send a message of optimism to everyone, and to assure you that, despite the difficulties, the problems, the challenges we have to face every day due to Turkish intransigence, we are never, ever going to demobilize from the effort to liberate our homeland and reunite it”.
«In our dreams, as in Nikos dreams, possession will never have a place, quite simply because we want to see this place reunited and realize its full potential,” he added.
The President of the Republic noted that “and what is our permanent request, and has recently been submitted again on our part on our own initiative, is for the Pyroi roadblock. Think about the prospects if it worked or if Cyprus was reunited”.
He said that “our side has proven in practice that it supports the effort of the Secretary General of the United Nations,we are not afraid to discuss, we are not afraid of dialogue, and we are doing everything possible so that the initiative of his personal envoy opens a window of opportunity, so that through the discussion we can see the prospects for the resumption of talks”.
He noted that “being today in the Athienou region, allow me to point out once again the determination of the Government and personally mine, for all-round support of our Athionou regions, which in essence, this is what you are doing in Athienou, are the custodians of our occupied territories and forerunners of the reunification of our homeland”.
Recognizing the difficulties that you, the residents of these areas, are facing, I assure you that we will continue to take measures and promote policies and actions that they will contribute to the further progress and development of our critical municipalities and communities, he said, among other things.
He stated that “listening to the various requests that have been made by the Mayor and the President of the School Tax Office, I have said many times, I firmly believe, what will characterize the period of our own governance, especially the issues of Education and Health, it is the basic responsibility of the state. And for a state to be considered a state in the year 2024, especially when we are talking about an EU member state, it must offer the same rights to its citizens wherever they are and wherever they live in the fields of Education and Health”. < /p>
The President of the Republic promised the Mayor of Athienou that he will return to Athienou “very soon”, assuring that the Health Center will start operating. “There is absolutely no excuse. It will be discussed in the Council of Ministers next Wednesday. The residents of Athienou should not have fewer rights than the residents of any other city and region”, he noted.
At the same time, he added, “the Technical Services of the Ministry of Education, please respond to the request of 150 thousand euros that concerns the wider field of Education. So, for Education and Health, for requests that we receive that are completely justified, we as a State must respond.I know, he said, “I have also spoken with the Minister of Agriculture, how worried you are about the issue of the debt of one million euros, which we have responded to in other communities as a Government throughout the years, is an issue to which we will find a solution very soon. For me, after Education and Health, if there is something we are happy about, it is to see so many children here, in a critical community. For there to be so many children means there are many young families in the area, so we must encourage even more families to come and live in Athienou”.
He noted that “in order to comefor a young family to live in Athienou, the first things they will look for are Education and Health. So, this is why I say that as a state we must respond to requests.
Very soon we will announce the revised Housing Plan for the Revitalization of Mountainous, Critical and Disadvantaged Communities, which we rank very high in our priorities. For us there are no small and large communities, nor two-speed citizens when we talk about Education and Health. Therefore, improving the quality of life of the residents throughout the territory that the Government of the Republic of Cyprus exercises effective control over remains the top goal of our policies.”
Our government program, he said, “which constitutes our contract with the people, it includes specific actions for critical communities, to create a better tomorrow, in a changing homeland”.
In this context, “our priorities are, despite the economic data for which we must be careful, there are no discussions in the Health and Education sectors”.
He noted that “the Amphitheater The “Nikos Mougiaris” hall that we are inaugurating today is a good example of a quality upgrade of our infrastructure, with multiple benefits both in the educational and cultural sectors”.
“The Hall that was designed during the previous government – and I want to highlight the role of the previous Government, especially my friend Kostas Kadis – and it was delivered just recently, at a cost of around two million euros. Initially, it was part of the architectural program of the new Athienou Primary School. However, it had not been erected together with the rest of the School building, which was done later, with a revision of the original planning”, he said.
President Christodoulidis stated that “the facilities of the hall & #8211; it is one of the best halls we have in Cyprus todayand you should be particularly proud, it may be necessary for the state to take advantage of it in the context of the presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026, or even to hold an event here promoting the special characteristics of a critical municipality – meet all modern standards”.
In closing, the President assured “again that our effort to continuously upgrade the two critical sectors of education and culture will be intensive and uninterrupted, I wish that the room we are inaugurating today will function as a meeting place, creation and progress. I am sure that it will develop into a lively center of activity in our Athienou area, where ideas, arts and people will come together for a better tomorrow”.
Also the President of the Republic “assured that, like the previous Governments – because the most important thing in politics is to recognize the work that is being done – and we will continue to be by your side”.
In his greeting, the Mayor of Athienou Kyriakos Kareklas stated that “today we are inaugurating the Nikos Mouyiaris amphitheater, a real jewel for Athienou”. Nikos Mouyiaris is a great benefactor of the place. His bust will be placed at the entrance of the building in August as part of the emigration congress.
He also mentioned the main problems that concern the Municipality of Athienousuch as “a health center, an ambulance station, a doctor's service on weekends, a debt of 1,100,000 euros from the construction of the domestic sewage system, the creation of a regional Agricultural Museum of Athens, a housing project for critical and disadvantaged areas, the creation of a dairy school and a high school economic branch in the area of Athienou high school”.
The hall has a capacity of 500 spectators including special arrangements for serving people in wheelchairs and meets all the requirements of a modern event hall. In addition to the audience area, the building includes a stage with backstage, a reception area, a canteen, a cameraman's and translator's area, a sound engineer's area, and outdoor areas. The cost amounted to 2,000,000 euros.
The opening ceremony began with a consecration by the Archbishop of Cyprus George. Afterwards, a commemorative plaque of the inauguration was unveiled. An artistic program was presented by students of the Primary Schools of Athienou KA and KB.
