Dear President and my dear political
father,
It happened that I have the honour of
bidding you farewell. It is up to me to convey the messages of respect,
recognition, gratitude and genuine love, from the whole of the political
leadership, the leadership of our Church and the people of our still divided
country.
It is both sad and an unbearable burden
of responsibility to attempt to describe, without verbal exaggerations, the
path of a Leader who was characterized not by many words but by a wealth of
action, the ability of intuition, boldness and
courageousness in decisions, moderation, honesty and morals in his long life and
political presence.
Besides, I have neither the privilege of
a historical writer, nor, due to emotions, the ability to render, without the
danger of exaggeration, the very facts that have ranked Glafcos Clerides in the
chorus of the great leaders of Cyprus and Hellenism.
There are politicians that persistently pursue
the hospitality of history. And there are those who are pursued by history
itself.
One of them is Glafcos Clerides, who
from very early on was pinpointed by history and
history generously dedicated its pages to him.
He was pinpointed in his early years
when, uncompromising with the conservative establishment of his time, he
performs a first unconventional act. He questions the use of ‘katharevousa’ and
comes in contradiction with the almighty educational system of the times.
Newspapers then spoke about the “little rebel” and dedicate flattering comments
about his boldness, outspokenness and courage.
History pinpoints him in the years of
the great world war. When on his own initiative he leaves the comfort of his
studies in London and voluntarily enlists in the British Royal Air Force to
take part himself in the fight of the free world against fascism and Nazism.
He experiences the cruelty of a war
which caused bloodshed to the planet. During the merciless bombings he
witnesses the destruction of the accomplishments and labours of people and
thousands of innocent lives to be buried under the ruins.
The Second World War catalytically
sealed the character and temperament of Glafcos Clerides. Deep inside him the
vision of a united and peaceful Europe took roots and bloomed. A Europe rid of
the syndromes of an unhealthy nationalism and military conflicts.
During the whirlpool of that great war,
Glafcos Clerides meets his life companion, Irene-Lilla. The person who was
meant to lovingly accompany him and share with him the pain, sadness, anxieties
and the maybe few happy moments of an eventful life. By her side he finds love,
companionship and absolute dedication and from these elements he derives the
strength and the courage to walk down the difficult road he chose. With his
companion they have an only daughter, Katie, whom they later proudly watched
take on public offices and stand beside her own life partner, Costas Shiammas.
History once again pinpoints Glafcos
Clerides when Cyprus Hellenism, with the epic uprising against colonialism,
claims self-determination and freedom. A rebel by nature, Glafcos Clerides
could not compromise with injustice and suppression.
With the code name ‘Yperides’ he aligns
with the overwhelming majority of Cyprus Hellenism and takes on important missions
of a political character. With unequaled courage and passion, he defends in
front of British court-martials the EOKA militants on death row. And when his
efforts are crushed in the face of the official decisions of the English
judges, Glafcos Clerides becomes a confessor of the moribund militants and it
is not a few times that he cracks.
He genuinely offers his tears as a holy
bread of gratitude in the size of an invaluable in self-sacrifice contribution.
The ending of that grand struggle does
not find the entirety of the Greek Cypriots agreeing. History once again runs
into Glafcos Clerides and foresees the visible dangers of division and without
sentimentality, he aligns unreservedly with the candidature of Archbishop
Makarios in order to contribute to the consolidation and prospect of a newly
formed Cypriot state. He vigorously defends the criticism of all those who
accused him of turning against his father’s candidature, by using an old saying
that the country is above everything, even above parents and ancestors.
The period that followed had been painful
for Cyprus and its people.
In the shambles of that turbulent
course, history finds Glafcos Clerides, first from the position of the Minister
of Justice and then from the position of the first President of the House of
Representatives, to be a voice of wisdom, moderation and self-knowledge. To
warn about the destructive consequences that the division of Hellenism would
bring about, while at the same time he does not hesitate to warn both
communities about the destructive consequences of not abiding to what was
agreed.
What followed in that given climate of
national frenzy, fanaticism and severity, did not allow for a sober dialogue. Division
was getting deeper with the loss of human lives.
Glafcos Clerides once again raises his
voice, pointing out that violence only brings violence. And that democracy
calls for dialogue, pluralism, tolerance to the opposite view and respect to
political diversity and mainly national understanding.
He was the first to put into action the politics
of realism; and, through his negotiating finesse and credibility, he succeeded
in almost reaching a comprehensive agreement that significantly improved the
provisions of the Constitution. Although the agreement was within reach, it unfortunately
failed, as a result of the prevailing conditions and the intervention of the
Athens Junta, thus leading to the tragic events of 1974.
In conditions of absolute chaos and total
collapse of the state’s structure following the Turkish invasion, Glafcos
Clerides is found again in the spotlight of history. This time history entrusts
him with the heavy burden of restoring constitutional and democratic lawfulness
and of intercepting the catastrophic march of the Turkish army.
In tragic circumstances for our people, under
adverse conditions that can hardly be described, Grafcos Clerides, as acting
President of the Republic, takes on a multidimensional task. To heal the first wounds
from the invasion, to restore relations of smooth cooperation with the now
democratic Greece, to safeguard the international status of the Republic of
Cyprus with its shaken foundations, to reconstruct the state’s non-existing
structures, to free prisoners of war, to locate missing persons, to support the
enclaved, to pay tribute to the fallen and the dead, to offer relief to the
displaced.
His multifaceted work is being
acknowledged both domestically and abroad. Especially when the rightful President
of the Republic, Archibishop Makarios, returns to Cyprus and publicly expresses
his grateful thanks.
When the House of Representatives as a whole,
democratic Greece and the international community see in Glafcos Clerides, the honest
politician and the good captain, who under unsettled conditions receives chaos
and delivers a well-organized state, as the late Tassos Papadopoulos said in a
speech from the floor of the House on 1st November 1975.
He cracks down on the action of illegal groups,
moreover at a time when his own life is in constant and immediate danger, and
he personally intervenes to prevent actions of blind hatred, revanchism and
reprisal.
Unfortunately, the events that followed only
left him with a feeling of bitterness; bitterness he nevertheless put aside
with his familiar collectedness and nobleness; without ever being tempted to
accuse his political opponents of what they had occasionally inconsiderately
accused him.
On 4 July 1976 Glafcos Clerides is found
again in the spotlight of history. This time he leads an initiative for
founding the Democratic Rally Party. Having painfully experienced himself the consequences
of division of the Cyprus society and deeply believing in the need for national
reconciliation, he gathers under the Democratic Rally’s roof reverse political
powers which, were until recently, in the trenches of a blind and morbid
political confrontation.
With his infallible political intuition and
his irrefutable perspicacity, he responds, from the very first moment, to the
call for a new democratic, pluralistic and polyphonic Cyprus; for a modern society
of tolerance, variety and creative composition. He discerns the prospect of a
great opportunity for a new course of the Cyprus society towards the future.
Through the renewal of democracy, the absolute condemnation of rhetoric
outbidding, the rejection of violence and fanaticism, and European political
culture.
By overcoming in practice stereotyped syndromes
of insecurity, isolation and provincialism, he boldly formulates his vision for
a Cyprus that walks together equally and creatively with the European Union peoples.
With the wounds of the fratricidal division
and the Turkish invasion still fresh and unhealed, the extremities, public invective
and uncritical targeting of persons but mostly ideas, were not an unknown
phenomenon for the political life back then. In the bewilderment of these extreme
events, Glafcos Clerides, putting aside any feelings of personal bitterness,
emerges with his dialectical modesty as the wise political leader of
moderation, modesty and conciliation.
Glafcos Clerides’ personal vindication was
maybe delayed, but it finally came in 1993, when history and the sovereign people’s
verdict entrust him, for two consecutive terms, with the responsibility for the
fate of Cyprus. With visionary politics that abolish in practice the partitive
lines of the past and project the common expectation for a homeland that
embraces all of its children.
President Clerides embarks on a multilevel
effort to upgrade our fraternal cooperation with Greece, to attain a viable and
functional solution to the Cyprus problem and to conquest the great national
and strategic goal of accession to the European family.
By-passing international reaction and suffocating
political pressure, with the historic decision of Copenhagen on 12 December
2012, he set the seal on the accession of our country to the European Union, when
Ankara was openly threatening with limitless reactions.
During the ten years of Clerides’ governance,
with the cooperation of all political powers without exception, the stabilization
of the economy, the reinforcement of social cohesion and the broadening of the rights
of weaker layers of the population were achieved, in order for Cyprus to
rightfully assert and finally achieve its accession to the European Union,
what’s more with flying colours.
Clafcos Clerides was fortunate enough to
see one of his two great visions come true. The other remained unfulfilled, since
Cyprus today still remains divided.
Through multidimensional politics, he succeeds
in stimulating international actors who submit, for the first time, a
comprehensive proposal for the solution of the Cyprus problem. Unfortunately, this
happened only a little before his second term had expired. Losing the elections
in February 2013 deprives him of the possibility of continuing an assertive
negotiation towards the attainment of a solution that would meet the
expectations of our people.
Notwithstanding his advanced age that would
permit him to withdraw, he assists the next President, by escorting him in all
the negotiations that followed. In the referendum, despite disagreeing with many
of the provisions of the final plan, with his renowned pragmatism, he didn’t
hesitate to make his opinions publicly known. The result of the public verdict
was absolutely respected by the leader who dedicated a lifetime for the
prevalence of democratic values.
His political legacy, however, of understanding,
dialogue and reconciliation, has firmly laid the foundations that allow the
Cypriot people as a whole, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites,
Armenians and Latins to legitimately look forward to better days for our common
homeland.
And I would like to take advantage of
the current presence of representatives of foreign governments, and most
importantly a large number of Turkish Cypriots from the world of politics, the
economy, the intelligentsia to send a message with the same as Glafcos Clerides’
visions:
The message that I am determined to work
tirelessly to achieve a solution based on occasional summit agreements, the
resolutions of the United Nations and the European principles and values, which
will lead us to a modern state that will respect and safeguard the human rights
of all its legal citizens.
It is, in my opinion, time to overcome
the reasonable suspicion caused by the passions and hatreds of the past because
we deserve a better future. The country is not a collision point for yesterday
and today. But vision, optimism and hope for tomorrow. Tomorrow is ours and our
children’s’.
My hope is that both my Turkish Cypriots
compatriots and Turkey share the same vision and they will work towards this
direction far from any other expediencies in order to achieve the soonest
possible what was a lifetime experience for Glafcos Clerides.
Glafcos Clerides leaves renowned with a
universal recognition reflected not only in the presence of all members of the political
leadership of the country and people but also with the participation of the
political leadership of Greece and many other distinguished personalities whom
we warmly thank for their presence here.
At this time that I stand overwhelmed
before the body of a man who was a protagonist and modulator of Cypriot history
for over half a century, allow me a personal soul testimony.
Glafkos Clerides never escaped his
responsibilities. He dared many times, without complaint to lift on his shoulders
responsibilities of others, responsibilities that were not for him to bear. He
faced death in the eyes, without prevarication. He left the world with his
dignity intact. With a deep admirable spiritual clarity, with an amazing mental
peacefulness and a magnificent human nobility.
My dear President,
It would be an unforgivable ingratitude
if as an epilogue of my humble speech I did not express publicly how much I owe
you.
Thank you because you surrounded me with
fatherly affection and love, because you supported me in difficult times,
because you taught me to bear and endure, to respect and honor, those who
express a different view.
Thank you because near you I learned
that politics and pettiness are not consistent, that self-criticism and self
awareness are a virtue, that the boldness to apologize for mistakes that you
make is an act of responsibility, that the political ethos is not served by
unworthy motives, that the political vision becomes a nightmare if it lacks
pragmatism, that the small and big problems of a country do not have a
political party color, that the political decisions should be taken at time of
sobriety and never in the heat of the moment.
Above all, however, I am grateful
because you taught me, that in critical times, the love of the leader towards the
country is not served from the rhetoric of great pleas but from the courage and
determination to bear his responsibilities, regardless of the political cost.
That the duty towards your country is to
be beneficial rather than likeable.
My dear President,
I want to reassure you that we will
continue your struggles with the same determination so that it will not be long
before the day when we commemorate you, we can announce to you that we seemed
worthy of your expectations.
Farewell our beloved President, our
beloved Captain.
History and all of us will keep your
memory forever.
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