The first annual memorial service for the former President of the Republic, Glafkos Clerides, took place today in Nicosia in the presence of Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades, members of the Council of Ministers, the President and members of his party (Democratic Rally), MPs and other officials, friends and family.
Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides said that Clerides was the politician who achieved the accession of Cyprus to the EU, noting that Clerides “achieved what nobody ever believed was possible”.
The accession of Cyprus to the EU, he said, was the most important success of the Republic of Cyprus after its declaration in 1960, he noted.
In his speech at the memorial service, former Deputy Minister to President Clerides Pantelis Kouros said that Clerides brought the Cyprus issue back to the attention of the international community and won the respect of his interlocutors.
“He left this world with the complaint that he did not see Cyprus reunited,” Kouros said, calling for unity in the domestic front, especially `at this very difficult time` during which Turkey violates Cyprus` sovereign rights in its Exclusive Economic Zone.
“National unity is the best memorial to our great leader Glafcos Clerides”, Kouros said.
Glafcos Clerides served as Cyprus President between 1993 and 2003.
He passed away on the 15th of November 2013.
