A country like ours cannot afford to forget, and Cyprus has no right to forget—nor does it forget—the sacrifice of the 13 heroes of Mari, said Government Spokesperson, Konstantinos Letympiotis, noting that the state has no right to be negligent or to postpone action.
The Government Spokesperson represented the Government on Sunday morning at the annual memorial service for Captain Andreas Ioannidis and Warrant Officer Kleanthis Kleanthous, held at the Church of Saint Kosmas of Aetolia, with Bishop Nikolaos of Amathous presiding.
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In his commemorative address, Mr. Letympiotis said that July 11, 2011, was a day that left an indelible mark on Cyprus, plunging families, communities, the National Guard, the Police, and our entire homeland into mourning. “A day when thirteen people were unjustly taken from us, leaving behind pain that will never fade, questions that will never be silenced, and an obligation that will never be forgotten,” he added.
Fifteen years later, he continued, the memory returns with the same intensity “because there are losses that time does not diminish, sacrifices that time does not erase, and names that do not fade into the past.”
Andreas Ioannidis and Kleanthis Kleanthous, he noted, remain in our memory because they embodied integrity and “we do not remember them because they wore a uniform; we honor them because they served that uniform until the very end.”
Stating that heroism is revealed only when a person is called upon to choose between himself and his mission, the Government Spokesperson pointed out that “they were among the few, the chosen ones, who had the moral greatness to choose their mission.”
He also emphasized that today is a day of reflection, a day of tribute “but, above all, a day of responsibility,” and that the tragedy in Mari has brought to light a truth that must not be forgotten: namely, that “the state has no right to negligence, no right to procrastination, and no right to remember its responsibility only after a loss has already occurred.”
“This is Marie’s message. The state truly honors its dead when it protects the living. It honors them when it learns from its wounds. It honors them when it turns grief into institutional memory and institutional memory into action,” she added.
He also emphasized that “a country like ours cannot afford to forget,” since, as he said, the Republic of Cyprus remains a homeland that still experiences the consequences of the brutal Turkish invasion and the ongoing illegal occupation and is fighting for liberation.
A homeland, he said, that lives in a difficult region, in a time of uncertainty, but chooses to stand as a force of responsibility, stability, and dignity, insisting on strengthening all sources of power. In such a homeland, Mr. Letympiotis emphasized, security cannot be an abstract concept, but rather a national imperative, a daily mission, and a prerequisite for survival and the future.
“The defense of our country is a duty we owe to history,” he continued, adding that “strengthening institutions and critical infrastructure is not an administrative choice; it is an obligation to our citizens; it is an act of justice, because the homeland must be worthy of those who serve it.”
He also noted that, for the state, Andreas Ioannidis and Kleanthis Kleanthous are heroes of duty and that, although no words can truly ease the pain of their relatives and no ceremony can make up for their absence, “we can say, with respect and sincerity, that Cyprus has no right to forget and will not forget.” “It does not forget their sacrifice. It does not forget their spirit. It does not forget the debt they left behind, which weighs on us all,” he added.
Together with Captain Andreas Ioannidis and Warrant Officer Kleanthis Kleanthous, said Konstantinos Letympiotis, we commemorate today “with deep respect” the remaining 11 who lost their lives in the deadly explosion of July 11, 2011, Captain Lambros Lambrou, Chief Petty Officer Michalis Heracleous, Petty Officer Antonis Charalambous, the twin brothers, Petty Officers Christos and Milto Christoforou, Sergeant Andreas Papadopoulos, and Sergeants Giorgos Giakoumis, Spyros Ttantis, Adamos Adamou, Vasilis Krokos, and Panagiotis Theofilou.
“Their names are engraved in the heart of Cyprus. In the conscience of the nation. In the history of a people who know that freedom, security, and dignity are not given as gifts, but are earned, safeguarded, and honored,” he added.
He also emphasized that Andreas Ioannides and Kleanthis Kleanthous left us a profound legacy: “to view duty as a path, memory as a responsibility, and our homeland as a life’s mission.”
Whenever the state makes a decision, whenever the administration is called upon to take preemptive action, leadership is called upon to step up; and every time the homeland asks its people to rise to the occasion and transcend their times, he added, “their memory will be there—silent but present, sorrowful but luminous, stern but just.”
Today, he said, we pay tribute to the memory, the spirit, and the self-sacrifice of the thirteen heroes of Mari and their families, and “we renew a promise. To remember, to learn, to prepare, and to serve our homeland with the responsibility its heroes deserve.”
Mr. Letympiotis emphasized that Captain Andreas Ioannidis and Warrant Officer Kleanthis Kleanthous lived up to their oath, lived up to their uniform, and “they did not merely remain at their posts; they went down in history. They look down upon us and remind us that what is true is national, and that the value of a homeland lies in the existence of people ready to give everything for it.”
“And today, there is room for only one oath: that Cyprus, which has suffered, the Cyprus that struggles, their own Cyprus that does not bow its head, will forever keep them in the collective memory and conscience, as guardians of its honor and dignity,” the Government Spokesperson concluded in his memorial address.
This was followed by a memorial service at the gravesite of the two heroes of Mari, at the Sfalangiotissa Cemetery, and the laying of wreaths on behalf of the Government, the Church, political parties, and relatives.
Source: CNA
