Republic of Cyprus: An anniversary and a lament

Opinion 1974Cyprus problemwar Republic of Cyprus: An anniversary and a lament B Anakirixi Relevant News From my notebook: I know I will never walk through that door again 17 August 2026 Republic of Cyprus: An anniversary and a lament 17 August 2026 Cardiac surgeons in the morning, economists at noon, football coaches by night 17 August 2026 Frixos Dalitis 17 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber August is the month of mourning. It has become synonymous with some of the greatest tragedies this country has endured. The second phase of the Turkish invasion, in August 1974, completed the crime against Cyprus. August was also the month when Tylliria was scorched by napalm bombs, in 1964. But August also marks an anniversary: the proclamation of the Republic of Cyprus. The truth, of course, is that we tend to forget that the Republic of Cyprus was proclaimed on 16 August, not on 1 October, when we celebrate it today. The decision to move the date of the celebrations was taken in 1963, on the grounds that they should not disrupt the summer holidays and that organising the festivities would be easier. Whether that decision to move the public holiday and the celebrations was right or wrong no longer matters very much. Very few people, after all, remember each 16 August that this was the day Cyprus was proclaimed an independent state. Certainly, when the Council of Ministers at the time decided to move the holiday and the celebrations, it could not have known that, eleven years later, the anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Cyprus would coincide with the completion of the Turkish invasion. We were reminded of it by yesterday’s Cyprus News Agency report marking the 66th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Cyprus. “16 August marks 66 years since Cyprus was proclaimed an independent state. After 82 years under British rule, the last British Governor of Cyprus, Hugh Foot, together with the first President of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, and Vice-President Fazıl Küçük, signed the Zurich-London Agreements, under which the Republic of Cyprus was proclaimed an independent and sovereign state,” the report said, adding that in September of the same year the Republic of Cyprus also became a member of the United Nations. According to the report, and based on the press of the time, President Makarios said in an address, among other things, that Cyprus, on entering the community of free nations, was determined to assume its responsibilities actively and work for the prevalence of the principles and provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. He also called on everyone to join forces and work together for the prosperity and progress of the island. It was a new beginning for Cyprus and its people. A new chapter that all the inhabitants of the island were called upon to write together: Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Latins and Armenians. It was not, perhaps, what the young people of this country had dreamt of, fought for and sacrificed themselves for only a few years earlier. The EOKA struggle had been fought with the aim of union with Greece. Union did not come. And regardless of how each person views that period, and regardless of the weaknesses and injustices contained in the Zurich-London Agreements, the signing of those agreements and the proclamation of Cyprus as an independent state marked the beginning of a new era for the country. A new era, but also a new challenge. A challenge we were called upon to manage then, and which we are still called upon to manage today. With many difficulties, with a constant threat hanging over us from Turkey and, at the same time, with internal disputes, weaknesses and mistakes that often undermine the very existence and functioning of our state. Sadly, this too is part of our own reality. We did not love this country and this state as much as they deserved. We did not always try as hard as we should have to protect it, strengthen it and make it better. And perhaps this is the greatest contradiction in our history: we gained independence, but we did not always manage to understand its value. We created a state, but we did not always succeed in cultivating the corresponding sense of statehood. We inherited a homeland, but too often we faced it through division, petty party politics and personal or factional priorities. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News From my notebook: I know I will never walk through that door again Cardiac surgeons in the morning, economists at noon, football coaches by night Motorists warned as heavy rain hits Nicosia-Limassol highway Car fire breaks out in Aglantzia at midday Court of Appeal orders extradition over Russian space funds theft Police await Law Office opinion on Drousiotis fundraiser Four summer drownings put Cyprus’s unstaffed lifeguard towers in the spotlight Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.