The Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis attended on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 July 2025 the ceremonies in memory of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 that were held in Nicosia, as well as the repatriation and burial ceremony of the remains of 16 Greek soldiers of ELDYK who fell at that time in Cyprus.

On Sunday 20 July, Thanasis Davakis attended the memorial ceremony of 51 years after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, which was organized by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace of Cyprus.

On the following day, July 21, the Deputy Minister attended the burial and repatriation ceremony of the remains that was held at the Holy Church of “Tis Tou Theou Sofias” in Nicosia. The Deputy Minister of National Defence laid a wreath in honour of the heroes, while he delivered a memorial speech. Then, he attended the memorial service (Trisagion) and the burial of the Ten Heroes that took place at Makedonitissa Tomb. It should be noted that the remains of the other six heroes will be buried at their places of origin, in Greece.

The memorial service that was held at the Holy Church of “Tis Tou Theou Sofias” officiated by the Archbishop Georgios III of Cyprus, was honoured by the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus Vasileios Palmas, the President of the Cypriot House of Representatives Annita Demetriou, the member of the Hellenic Parliaments Nina Kasimati, the Chief of the National Guard General Staff Lieutenant General Georgios Tsitsikostas, the Ambassador of Greece to Cyprus Ioannis Papameletiou, the Director General of the Cypriot Ministry of Defence Elikkos Elia, the Head of the Cypriot Ministry of Defense’s Military Staff Major General Charis Georgiou, the Commander of the Hellenic Force in Cyprus Colonel Asterios Despoudis, the Head of Humanitarian Affairs and Commissioner for the Citizen Panayiotis Palates, the President of the Panhellenic Committee of Parents and Relatives of Missing Persons, Maria Kalbourtzi, the President of the Pan-Cypriot Organization of Relatives to Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons Nikos Sergidis, Ministers of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, representatives of political parties, the military leadership and relatives of the sixteen Greek Heroes.

In his memorial speech, Mr. Davakis stated, among other things, the following:

“Some of these heroes return to rest to their birth soil, to the arms of mother Greece. However, they do not return as shadows; they do not return as inanimate remains. They return as a flame, as a symbol of honour, as a living proof that the Greek spirit neither bows down, nor recedes, nor forgets.

Those sanctified bones that lie in front of us are the ones that kept the vision of free Cyprus alive; they neither lost their courage before the devastation, nor cared about death. They fell defending the honour of the nation.

They were all present at the most tragic time of modern Greek history and return today amidst tears of silence, but also of great pride.

But this ceremony is not enough. The flag and our presence here is not enough. Our actual duty starts after that. They should not be forgotten. They should become education, a living memory. They should be taught in schools, in camps, in our homes. But not as a tearful defeat, but as a testimony of courage, self-denial and unity.

From Pafos to Evros and from Karpasia to my birthplace, Mani, the message is this: “No matter how many times Hellenism falls, it will still rise. And those who fall for our country, never die”.

I met a while ago the daughter of one of the Heroes, the daughter of a man who did not have a chance to see her living her life. As a father, I understand – as far as possible – how it feels for a daughter to grow up without the shadow of the person who brought her to life. However, no matter what happens, it is certain that this gap cannot be filled. What can be filled is the comfort that her father, her brother, her parent, her relative fell for an ideal, as befits us Greeks!

However, the Country should do more for those people, who are the historical heritage of the Heroes we are honouring today.

May they rest in eternal peace!”