On Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 July 2021, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Alkiviadis Stefanis went to Cyprus and attended the relics repatriation ceremonies of Lieutenant General Stylianos Kalbourtzis, who fell in action on the 23rd of July 1974.
On Wednesday 21 July, following the memorial service, he laid a wreath at the Memorial of the Hellenic Contingent in Cyprus. The event was attended by the President of the House of Representatives Mrs Annita Dimitriou, the Defence Minister of Cyprus Mr Charalambos Petridis, the MP of B2 West Sector of Athens (ND) Mr Giannis Loverdos, Representing the President of the Hellenic Parliament, the MP of B3 South Sector of Athens (ND) Mr Konstantinos Kyranakis, the Reverend Grigorios Bishop of Mesaoria, the Chief of the National Guard General Staff Lieutenant General Dimokritos Zervakis and the Commander of the Hellenic Contingent in Cyprus Colonel (INF) Stylianos Titanas.
Next, he attended the relics reception ceremony and the short memorial service in the memory of Hero Kalbourtzis, at the Camp bearing his name.
On Thursday 22 July 2021, representing the President of the Hellenic Government, he attended the official relics repatriation ceremony of Lieutenant General Stylianos Kalbourtzis, Commander of the 181st Field Artillery Battalion, heroically fallen in action, at Saint Sophia Cathedral, in Nicosia.
During his stay in Cyprus, the Deputy Minister of National Defence met with His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, the European MP (ND) Mrs Elisa Vozemberg and the Commissioner of Cyprus Presidency Mr Fotis Fotiou. He also met with representatives of the Isaak-Solomos Remembrance Initiative, who have recently visited the Pavlos Melas Residence, in Athens, during their travels in places of historical remembrance.
The Deputy Minister of National Defence stated the following in his speech, during the official relics repatriation ceremony:
“As a representative of the Greek state and expressing the personal address of the President of the Hellenic Government, I feel particularly touched and exceptionally proud to attend the reception and repatriation ceremony of the relics of Lieutenant General Kalbourtzis Stylianos, paying tribute to the Hero who fell in action on 23 July 1974, defending the sanctities of the Cypriot Hellenism, during the outrageous Turkish invasion on the island which suffered torments.
Taking the Commander of the 181st Field Artillery Battalion as an example, we express our greatest gratitude to all fallen in action during that period, Greeks and Cypriots, who, under a spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotism, stayed firm in their oaths, proving in practice the meaning of serving the Country till the “last drop of your blood”.
The sacrifice of all heroic combatants in the battlefields of Cyprus, honouring the flag and defending the values of Hellenism, will forever remain a bright beacon for the Greeks all over the world, expanding the boundaries of their national dignity and pride.
The historical research of the tragic events of July 1974, under no circumstances must simply aim at a fruitless and sterile retrospection or a simple revival of heroism and heroes, but it must rather serve the contemporary needs of the national conjunction in order to derive lessons learned and models, as an act of awakening for combat, as a step of national uplifting and as an inspiration for the long-lasting unfading values of freedom, independence and justice.
Hellenism, all over the world, constituting an inheritance of the priceless spiritual treasure and the history of its ancestors, regards the sacrifice of all Cyprus Combatants during the execution of duty as the ultimate contribution to the Country, as evidence of exemplary devotion to the ideals of the nation and as a prerequisite for national reorganisation and historical uplifting.
The illegal Turkish invasion that stigmatised Cyprus will always constitute a common, very important part of modern history of the two countries of Hellenism and the sacrifice of the fallen heroes will constitute the moral imprint in the attempt of a final solution regarding the Cyprus issue.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Forty-seven years have passed since the Attila and the grief is still present. It is impossible for us to forget the barbarity of the Turkish invasion, the uprooting, the refugees, the continuing drama of the families of the missing persons and the confined ones in the occupied area of the Island, the massive violation of human rights, the destruction of cultural heritage, the illegal Turkish settling and the continuing Turkish occupation.
The inconceivable tragedy obliges us to constantly keep alive the memory of this horrible crime and remind the civilised world of the indelible responsibility of Turkey, which keeps on provoking international legality, threatening and violating in a brutal way all principles of international law and morality.
The final solution of the Cyprus issue remains a firm common goal of Greece and Cyprus, the termination of the disgraceful Turkish invasion and the finding of an overall, mutually accepted and viable solution, based on the principles and values of the European Union, the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the decisions of the Security Council.
Greece keeps supporting with determination the attempts for an agreed, just and balanced solution which will restore international legality, which is flagrantly violated by the continuing illegal territorial occupation of the Republic of Cyprus, of a sovereign and independent state, a member of the United Nations and the European Union.
I would like to assure you that as a country we possess modern, efficient and powerful Armed Forces that allow us to apply our foreign policy with caution, stability, composure, determination and national self-confidence as well, confirming our position, as a factor of prosperity and security for the wider region of Southeastern Mediterranean.
Our Armed Forces, devoted to their oath, honouring their important historic heritage, constitute a basic pillar of national power and are placed, through their constant operational readiness and their high fighting and deterrence power, as a spearhead of our Nation’s morale, against any challenge or threat.
Concluding, I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the Cypriot Government for its attempts, so that the sacred relics of all fallen Greek and Cypriot Combatants be recovered, be identified and buried with all anticipated honours.
General Stylianos Kalbourtzis,
Your valour made you immortal. Your bravery, forty-seven years ago, was added to our Nation’s gallantries. You did not quit, you were not intimidated. You were not defeated. You took care of your men, your comrades. Some of them, today, 100 years since your birth, will accompany you in the motherland. They honour you as you honoured Cyprus and as Cyprus honoured you in return. They honour you because you have been and still are the Commander who did not abandon them, who did not yield at the last moment of the battle.
We thank you for everything you offered to the Cypriot Hellenism. We owe you a great gratitude and we bow once more before your heroic figure. The flame of your patriotism will remain inextinguishable in our soul. The respect and our deep appreciation for your great sacrifice will accompany you for ever”.
