In the morning, the President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades attended a memorial service for the army officers and soldiers killed during the invasion at the Tomb of Makedonitissa in Nicosia, where he also laid a wreath. Similar events to honor the victims of the war were held throughout Cyprus.
Air-raid sirens sounded at 5.30am, the time the Turkish invasion was launched and Turkish troops landed on the island`s northern shores.
In his address at the ceremony, President Anastasiades said that everyone was obliged to honor those who lost their lives during the invasion or were still missing, by working together to rid the country of the occupation and reunite it.
In the evening, an event will take place at the Presidential Palace marking the anniversaries of both the coup that preceded the invasion and the Turkish invasion.
The Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias released an announcement on the occasion of the anniversary of the Turkish invasion and “ongoing illegal occupation” of over a third of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, which, as the Minister notes in his message, is member state of both the United Nations and the European Union.
“The repercussions of the Turkish invasion include the uprooting of over 200,000 Cypriots from their ancient hearths, the humanitarian tragedy of the missing, the systematic and – according to Turkish Cypriot protests – still ongoing Turkish settlement, and looting of the Greek and Christian heritage, of the occupied areas.
Greece does not and will never accept the consequences of the Turkish invasion. It has made it clear to all sides that the elimination of the anachronistic system of guarantees and the withdrawal of all Turkish occupation forces – which, as the recent events in Turkey confirmed, undermine rather than ensure constitutional order and democratic normalcy – are an integral part of the solution of the Cyprus problem.
A constant concern and chief pursuit of our foreign policy is the ending of the ongoing Turkish occupation, which assails not only the rights of the Greek Cypriot community, but also those of the Turkish Cypriot community. Our goal is the achievement of a just, viable, comprehensive and agreed solution of the Cyprus problem, based on the relevant UN resolutions and the implementation of the community acquis throughout the territory of Cyprus.
Today, we bow to the memory of our brothers who fell in Cyprus in 1974. We express our respect for and patriotic gratitude to all the defenders, Cypriots and Greeks, of the Republic of Cyprus. Greece is and will remain at Cyprus’ side, assisting and supporting Cypriot Hellenism and the whole of the Cypriot people” read the announcement.