On the 14th of August in the year 1996, the Greek hero Solomos Solomou was murdered by a Turkish officer while trying to tear down the Turkish flag on occupied Cyprus. Cyprus was illegally and unjustly invaded by Turkey in 1974, with many Greeks dead and missing still to this day. Only a few days earlier, Solomou’s cousin Tassos Isaac was murdered by Turkish Nationalists from the extremist Grey Wolves organization.
During the protests after the murder of Tassos Isaac at the United Nations Buffer Zone, Solomos Solomou separated himself from the group of protesters, and began to climb up the flag pole with the intention of tearing down the Turkish flag. He was going to replace it with a Greek flag, but Turkish soldiers shot at him, hitting him in the neck, and he fell to the ground. The entire scene was filmed and seen on live television.
UN soldiers recovered his body, and his funeral was attended by thousands. The Greek Prime Minister and Cypriot president visited the homes of the families of Tassos and Solomos. The Turkish foreign minister, who later became prime minister, Tansu Çiller, said that “Turks would break the hands of anyone who insulted their flag”. The murderers of Solomou were identified, but never faced justice, as Turkey claims the Greek side of Cyprus has no jurisdiction over the North.
This is not just history. This is today. Cyprus is still occupied. This is only one example of many events where Turkey has unjustly colonized a people and persecuted them. There are still thousands of missing persons unaccounted for on Cyprus. How many innocent lives were taken by Turkey’s illegal actions?
Solomos Solomou, and Tassos Isaac, are National Heroes and Ethnomartyrs. Memory eternal, Solomos Solomou! Memory eternal, Tassos Isaac! Memory eternal, Ethno-Martyrs of Cyprus!