13.06.2023.
Minister Vučević lays wreath at Makedonitissa military cemetery in Cyprus
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević laid a wreath today at the Makedonitissa military cemetery in Cyprus, in the presence of the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, Michalis Giorgallas.
During the wreath-laying ceremony, Minister Vučević was accompanied by brigadier generals Goran Momčilović and Savo Iriškić.Following the ceremony, Minister Vučević signed the cemetery’s guest book, inscribing the following message:
“Heroes, liberators, you who, filled with love for your country, defended every inch of it and won freedom by preserving the honour of your people.
With expressions of deep, eternal respect and admiration, I am convinced that the Republic of Cyprus will forever cherish the memory of your heroic deeds and the victorious history you have written.
May the memory of you live forever! “
The military cemetery, whose official name is the Tomb of Makedonitissa, is situated in the area of Makedonitissa, three kilometres north of Nicosia. Greeks and Cypriots killed during the Turkish invasion in 1974 are buried in it.The historical event related to this location took place on July 22, 1974 when Noratlas, a military aircraft crashed here. Thirty-one soldiers died, and only one survived. The day after the plane was shot down, one of the most fierce battles was fought on that spot, the defence of the Nicosia Airport from the advancing Turkish forces. They managed to defend the airport and the following day the supreme command of the Cypriot Army decided to hand the airport over to UN forces, and it is still under UN control today. In 2018, an aircraft, identical to the one shot down in 1974, was placed at this cemetery, and the “Mother of the Missing” Monument was erected at the entrance to the cemetery, with the names of the dead written on stones.
