NICOSIA — "It is a special honour and with deep emotion that we participate today in the celebrations of the 61st anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Cyprus. This year's anniversary is of special importance, as it coincides with the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution for the overthrow of the Turkish yoke, the National Polygenesis, the independence of Greece and the establishment of the modern Greek state," Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said on Friday.

Panagiotopoulos, who attended the military parade held in Nicosia for the celebrations of the 61st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Cyprus, said that "on this great anniversary for Greece, the Greeks, Hellenism and our Nation, we honour all the heroes of [1821], we also honour our Cypriot brothers, those who fought with self-denial and heroism on the side of the Greeks – with the heroic phalanx of Cypriots being a shining example – and gave their blood in '21. In the battle of Athens, in the exit from Messolonghi and elsewhere."

"Today, on the anniversary of Independence, we pay tribute to all the Cypriots and Greeks who fought and sacrificed themselves for the freedom and independence of Cypriot Hellenism. We pay tribute to the wounded, the missing and those who fought for the independence of Cyprus," he added.