The Liberation Struggle 1955-59

The schoolboy hero Evagoras Pallikarides who, in March 1957, at the age of only 18, was led to the gallows deserves special mention. When he left school in order to take to the mountains and join the struggle, he wrote to his schoolmates: "Former schoolmates, At this time one among you is missing. One who has gone in search of some fresh air. One whom you may never see alive again. Do not weep on his grave. Do not mourn for him. Only scatter a few May flowers on his grave. That is enough for him. I will take an uphill path I will scale the mountains I will find the blessed steps That will lead to freedom". Thus, with a smile upon his lips he climbed on to the gal- lows. Another hero worthy of mention was the standard-bear- ing pupil of Famagusta High School Petrakis Yiallouros , who in a combative demonstration was shot dead by the British. The struggle against British Rule was a hard one. It was fought on both the military and the polit- ical arenas. Schoolchildren participated dynamically under A.N.E (The E.O.K.A Youth Organisation). Under the leadership of the Ethnarch MAKARIOS and General George Grivas-DHIGENIS the Greeks of Cyprus wrote new heroic pages in the history of Hellenism. The struggle may not have led to fulfilment of the great dream of union with Greece, but it did lead to the end of colonial rule and the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus. And this was in the end a victory of Hellenism and freedom over colonial arbitrariness and omnipotence. The E.O.K.A struggle was above all a struggle of the young. The entire Greek world bows its head to them and salutes their heroic sacrifice, for they were examples of honour and heroism, examples of courage and endurance. In times of crisis for the nation the struggle of the Greeks of Cyprus, the struggle of E.O.K.A. opened the way for endurance, determi- nation, national dignity and hon- our. This was the message sent out by the suffering Cypriots to Greeks all over the world. Under the leadership of Ethnarch Makarios and Dhigenis the Greeks of Cyprus wrote heroic pages in the history of Hellenism The standard-bearing schoolboy Petrakis Yiallouros, always in the vanguard of demonstrations