RSF mourn the passing of a hero of the Cypriot independence struggle

international | miscellaneous | press release Thursday October 22, 2009 23:03 by Saoirse - Republican Sinn Fein saoirse at iol dot ie 223 Parnell St, Dublin 1 01 8729747

In a statement the Vice President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton expressed the regret of Republicans in Ireland to the news of the recent death of Vias Livadas - a leading veteran of the Cypriot freedom struggle of the 1950s.

“The passing of Vias Livadas is mourned by Irish Republicans as the passing of a true friend and comrade in struggle. Over 50 years ago bonds of comradeship, solidarity and friendship were forged in British prisons between the revolutionaries of Cyprus and Ireland which have endured to the present day. Vias Livadas and his generation of Cypriots wrote a heroic chapter in their nation’s history resisting the British occupation of their country, a struggle which the Irish people could readily identify with.

In the foreword to his book Cypriot and Irish Political Prisoners telling the story of this amazing episode in revolutionary history, Vias Livadas summed up the importance of the bond forged within those British prison walls: ‘I aim to show that EOKA and the IRA were not merely internal affairs for their countries, but a wider revolutionary effort that is recorded among international liberation movements.” He goes on: ‘I want to clarify that these are not just ordinary relationships, but long lasting and true friendship, built upon the solid ground of common goals, ideological convictions and deep concern for human values everywhere.’ Vias Livadas was a true champion of the international struggle against imperialism.