The leadership and members of the wider Greek community in Sydney are in full swing as they prepare for the events to mark the 50-year anniversary of the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus.
The events are being organised by the Justice for Cyprus Co-ordinating Committee (SEKA NSW) and include a concert, documentary screening, church service, wreath laying, march and a large public gathering, which will be spread across the coming two weekends.
A documentary will be shown this Saturday, 20 July (the official day of the invasion in 1974), at the Stanmore club of the Cyprus Community of NSW at 7pm.
The documentary is titled ‘Two Homelands’ and is made by Kay Pavlou, a filmmaker of Greek Cypriot descent, with the screening marking its premiere in Sydney after being first shown in Adelaide on 14 July.
There will be a performance prior to the screening as bouzouki player Tassos Lambrou and singer Hellen Arestides entertain the audience.
On the evening of Saturday 27 July, there will be a cocktail party at the Stanmore club to officially welcome the Commissioner of the Citizen of the Republic of Cyprus, Panayiotis Palates, with the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Australia, Antonis Sammoutis, and other official guests and members of the community also in attendance.
On the morning of Sunday 28 July, there will be a church service at the church of St Sophia and her Three Daughters at Taylor Square.
A wreath laying ceremony is set to follow at 1.30pm wherein wreaths will be laid at the cenotaph in Martin Place by representatives of Australian authorities, representatives from Greece and Cyprus as well as members from various Greek associations.
A peaceful protest march will then take place to highlight that Greek Australians do not forget the tragedy of Cyprus and demand a just and viable solution to the problem.
Afterwards, around 3.30pm, a major public gathering will occur at the premises of the Cyprus Community of NSW where officials will make addresses and a music program will be presented featuring singer Marios Charalambous and pianist Georgios Timotheou (both coming from Cyprus).
Speaking on the planned events, co-President of SEKA NSW Miranda Adamou told Neos Kosmos the following:
“Half a century has gone past from the invasion of our beloved Cyprus by Turkey but the pain is still sharp, the memories are still vivid and our strive for justice and freedom is as strong as ever. We will not forget and we will not give up our struggle to unify our beloved island.”
Chris Koulinos, co-President of SEKA NSW and also President of PASEKA, added to this sentiment as he urged the entire Hellenic community of NSW to rally together for these upcoming commemorative events.
“We call upon everyone to come and demonstrate with us as we show that we do not forget the events from 50 years ago,” Koulinos told Neos Kosmos.
