Christodoulides unveils Eoka monument in Pyrgos, announces €160,000 in funding
President Nikos Christodoulides unveiled a monument to Eoka heroes in Pyrgos and announced funding for outstanding construction costs and redevelopment of the village centre.
Pyrgos, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides unveiled a monument dedicated to Eoka heroes in Pyrgos, Limassol, on Saturday and announced €160,000 in government funding for the community.
Funding for monument and village centre
The government will provide €10,000 to the community council to cover unpaid costs associated with building the monument. Christodoulides said the government would cover the difference if the outstanding bills exceeded that amount.
A further €150,000 will fund the redevelopment of the village’s traditional centre.
Residents and the local authority funded the monument through a fundraising campaign launched in 2012.
Remarks on the Eoka struggle
Christodoulides said the people of Pyrgos had answered the call to join the struggle “en masse”, describing it as the country’s “purest struggle”.
He said the monument was important because younger generations must learn about the nation’s fight for independence “so that they may take pride in it”.
Eoka was formed in 1955 under the leadership of General George Grivas. It launched an armed campaign against British colonial rule with the aim of achieving union with Greece.
Comments on the Cyprus problem
Addressing the Cyprus problem, Christodoulides acknowledged that “some may argue that honouring Eoka conflicts with efforts at reunification”. He countered that “any lasting solution must rest not on self-negation”, but on “respect for history”.
He described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s insistence on a two-state solution at the UN General Assembly as “extreme and counterproductive”.
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