10 August 2025

“The murderers of my father and Soli walk free, they give away our properties, and we continue to live in a normality built on oblivion and amnesia,” said Anastasia, daughter of Tasos Isaak, with emotion during the unveiling of the statues of Isaak and Solomos Solomou on Saturday night in Paralimni.

Anastasia reminded that on August 11, 1996, “the barbarians, with the help of the occupying army, beat my father, an unarmed man, to death with clubs, stones, and sticks.” “We live in a situation created by the murderers because we forgot who paid with blood,” she said, adding, “We do not accept that the sacrifice of Tasos and Solomos goes to waste; we do not accept the exploitation of the heroes’ names, nor that their light be appropriated to illuminate their own darkness.” She called for justice to be served and for those responsible to be arrested, “so that the path to liberation can open.”

The statues, crafted by sculptor Philippos Yiapanis, were unveiled by the Speaker of the Parliament, Annita Dimitriou, who emphasized that those responsible for the 1996 murders remain unpunished, while the arrest warrants and the 2008 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights remain unenforced.

The event was attended by hundreds of motorcyclists from the Isaak–Solomos Memory Initiative, who rode through all the towns of free Cyprus and crossed the Deryneia checkpoint before gathering at the monument. The Mayor of Paralimni–Deryneia, Giorgos Nikoletos, stressed that erecting the monument is a small tribute of honor and that the memory of the two heroes will remain alive.

The 29th memorial service was held today

“We owe Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou the continuation of the struggle to save Hellenism and unite our divided homeland,” said Mayor Giorgos Nikoletos today, adding that we owe it to continue the fight to repay the debt to their sacrifice.

In a commemorative speech at the 29th national-religious memorial service for the heroic martyrs Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, held this morning at the Church of Saint Demetrios in Paralimni, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nikola Ioannides, who represented the government, and the Speaker of the Parliament Annita Dimitriou, the Mayor said, “The sacrifice of the two youths of Paralimni transcended the boundaries of time and place.”

“Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou are not just names recorded in history’s annals but symbols of a people who resist, and figures of a generation that did not hesitate and does not hesitate to defend justice with the blood of their sacrifice,” he said.

He added, “Every time we commemorate Tasos and Solomos, we do not fulfill a mere formal duty but a sacred obligation to truth, history, and future generations. We remember not to mourn but to arm ourselves with courage and strength so that we never forget who we are and the path we must follow.”

Mr. Nikoletos referred to the events that led to the murder of the two heroes and noted, “Those moments, indelibly etched in our national memory, revealed not only the true face of the invader but also the soul of our people, as two young men, with their whole lives ahead of them, chose the path of honor and self-sacrifice over silence and submission.”

Calling on people to ask themselves “if we are worthy of the sacrifice of Isaak and Solomos,” the Mayor noted, “True tribute is our stance against the occupation, our insistence not to legitimize the facts on the ground, and our will to pursue justice to the end.”

Their murder, Mr. Nikoletos continued, “remains unpunished. The perpetrators and their instigators roam free, shielded by the occupation regime and the indifference of those who have settled for injustice and occupation,” he said, adding, “This wound must remain open in our memory, not to paralyze us, but to mobilize us because, as I explained, our debt is still half paid—the other half is justice.”

Justice, he said, “will not only come when the guilty are held accountable but when our homeland breathes free, when the road to Famagusta no longer passes through barbed wire, when our children walk again on the soil now tread by the boots of the occupier. When Tasos’s motorcycle travels freely in Famagusta, Apostolos Andreas, Kyrenia, Morphou.”

He described the sacrifice of the two heroic martyrs from Paralimni as “a heavy but precious legacy for the municipality. It is the beacon showing us that even in times of defeatism and fatigue, there are souls who refuse to compromise,” adding, “This is the message we must pass to future generations—that love for the homeland is a daily act, a struggle, a readiness to defend justice even at the highest cost.”

The Mayor said, “Our minimal duty is not to let time fade their images.” He added, “To Tasos and Solomos, we owe the continuation of the struggle to save Hellenism and unite our divided homeland. The struggle to repay the debt to their sacrifice. Only when we pass freely through Lower Deryneia, Acheritou, Famagusta, Rizokarpaso, Lefkoniko, Akanthou, and Lysi will we truly repay our debt to them.”

Meanwhile, Skevi Solomou, sister of Solomos Solomou, said that 29 years after the murder of Tasos and Solomos, her family carries “the burden of loss with a pride that overcomes the pain. The sacrifice of Tasos and Solomos does not seek revenge but justice, freedom, and historical memory,” she said.

At the same time, she expressed the family’s “sincere thanks” to all who contributed to the realization of the monument honoring the two heroic martyrs of Paralimni, “this timeless symbol of sacrifice and honor. This monument is a tribute and a promise to future generations that the memory of the two heroes will remain alive.”

She also called on everyone to “be worthy of their legacy, to illuminate our future with the truth of their sacrifice. With respect, faith, and unity, let us continue the struggle for a Cyprus that is free, peaceful, and intact,” she concluded.

The memorial service was led by the Bishop of Mesaoria, Grigorios. Also attending were the presidents of DIKO and ELAM, members of parliament, the families of the two heroes, dozens of motorcyclists from the Isaak–Solomos Memory Initiative, and many people.