Cyprus paid tribute on Saturday to its first President Archbishop Makarios III, on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary and 36 years after his death, on August 3, 1977.
A memorial service, officiated by Archbishop Chrysostomos was held at the Kykkos Monastery. President Nicos Anastasiades and other officials attended the service followed by a religious ceremony at Makarios’ burial place on the mountain of Throni, near Kykkos, the unveiling of Makarios statue by President Anastasiades and the laying of wreaths.
In a speech delivered during the ceremony for the unveiling of the statue, President Anastasiades noted that the way Makarios’ course must guide us during the difficult we are experiencing and the more difficult that will follow.
“We have to learn from our history, from the wisdom and glory and the leader but also from our mistakes” he added, stressing the importance and value of understanding, cooperation and consultation and the devastating repercussions of discord and conflicts.
“We all have to be responsible, united and show consensus,” he added, noting that this is how Makarios acted when he showed forgiveness for all those who turned their guns against him.
Anastasiades noted that “we have to struggle, being united, for the reunification of our country and to join forces and work hard for the recovery of our economy.”.
In the eulogy he delivered during the memorial service, Archbishop Chrysostomos said that the Cyprus problem cannot be solved if Turkey demands to remain a guarantor power and if illegal settlers or the Turkish army remain on the island.
He said that the basis of the negotiations on the Cyprus problem, expected to resume in the Autumn, must be appropriately prepared and a federal settlement but provide for a single state with a powerful central government that will determine the country’s foreign policy.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Repeated UN-led rounds of peace talks have so far failed to bring about a negotiated settlement that would reunite the country. It is expected that talks between the two Cypriot communities will resume in the Autumn.
