Cyprus remembers legacy of Makarios

Cyprus on Thursday marked the 46th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Makarios, the island’s first president following independence from British colonial rule.

“His political presence and action left a deep impression on the whole of Cyprus,” the current archbishop Georgios said.

Political parties also issued statements paying tribute to the late ethnarch.

Archbishop Georgios described Makarios as a “major obstacle to the plans to partition and Turkify Cyprus and for this very reason, he was the target of the treacherous coup d’état of July 1974”, he said.

“Archbishop Makarios was an emblematic figure, a strong personality who left an indelible legacy,” he added.

Asked whether he thought the first president of Cyprus succeeded in uniting Cypriots, the archbishop said that to a large degree, he had but that this has all been destroyed by the Athen junta.

“It doesn’t take many to do harm,” Georgios said.

“The messages sent by Makarios’ path are clear. His principles will bear fruit and we must not accept the invasion because if we accept it that means that we are perpetuating and legitimising it,” he said.

“Makarios tells us that a fight is needed to insist on the principles and the law will prevail in the end,” he added.

From the political parties, left-wing Akel, in a statement, described Makarios as “the most emblematic figure in the modern history of Cyprus” whose name is identified with the homeland, its people and its struggles.

“Akel honours and commemorates Makarios with respect but does not succumb to his idealisation, nor does it downgrade his wrong choices and assessments,” the party said in a statement.

“On the contrary, we believe that we must judge, analyse and learn from the mistakes of Makarios,” it added.

Akel said the party could not accept was “the insulting reversal of the historical truth”. It was referring to a House of Representatives resolution in December 2022, which Akel said  “equated the legitimate government of Makarios and the forces of democracy with the terrorism of Eoka B” by glorifying of its leader George Grivas and other officials of this and the coup.

“This historical falsification has obvious political expediencies,” Akel said. On the one hand it was an attempt to exonerate the far-right for the betrayal of Cyprus through the coup “so that it can today sow its misanthropic ideas in society and undermine any prospect of a solution to the Cyprus problem” and on the other hand, “to erase from history the role of Nato in the bloodshed of Cyprus”.

Other political parties, including the Greens, centre-right Diko and socialist Edek also issued statements, honouring the “memory of Makarios and his struggles”.

“The last part of his life was spent healing the wounds of the Turkish invasion and fighting for Attila’s departure from the island,” the Greens said.

According to Diko, Makarios’ life was “still a source of light for our struggles for liberation, reunification and national justice”.

Edek said the best tribute to Makarios was “the continuation of the struggle for a democratic, viable and functional solution to the Cyprus problem”.