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The Weekend Neos Kosmos : 30 June 2018
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2 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 30 JUNE 2018 DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM The Hellenic RSL celebrates its 40th anniversary Members and supporters gathered to celebrate the success of the Hellenic Returned and Services League, praising it for the great work and support it provides The Hellenic Returned and Services League (RSL) subbranch commemorated its 40th anniversary last Sunday, inviting members and supporters to join in the celebrations. The secretary of the Hellenic RSL, Major Terry Kanellos, and the president Steve Kyritsis OAM welcomed all who came to celebrate the organisation's 40 years of being part of the Returned and Services League of Australia. Among those present was the Greek Consul General, Dimitrios Michalopoulos, who congratulated the Hellenic RSL on its 40th anniversary. In his speech, Mr Michalopoulos said that although he has been in Melbourne only a short time, he knows of the contribution the Hellenic RSL provides not only to the Greek community, but also to the Australian-wide veteran community. This sentiment was echoed by Victoria RSL Melbourne representative Ian Goldie, who spoke of the success of the Hellenic RSL, as well as of the great work and support the organisation provides to the broader veteran community. The Hellenic RSL subBranch of Victoria entered the national returned services of Australia in April 1978. At the time, it was named the Greek RSL - it had been established in August 1976, by a group of Greek servicemen who had served in the Greek armed forces, and Greek Australian servicemen who served in the Australian forces. Their application to join the Returned and Services League of Australia had been approved in 1977 by the National RSL in Canberra, and in 1980, two years after the Greek RSL was registered as a sub-branch of Victoria, it formed a committee and adopted its current name. Today, the Hellenic RSL of Melbourne is the largest Hellenic RSL sub-branch in Australia with over 200 members. It commemorates all the Greek and Australian national days each year and it is the only Greek organisation that proudly marches on Anzac Day in Melbourne, alongside veterans from the wars of Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan and earlier wars. The Hellenic RSL is also the only one to commemorate Greek national days with wreath-laying ceremonies inside the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, where two of the organisation's members volunteer each week, with a combined service of over 30 years. (L-R) La Trobe Research Fellow Dr Michalis Michael, Halil Adal, Yener Adal, Labor MPs Linda Burney, Steve Georganas, and Maria Vamvakinou; High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus Martha Mavrommati, Cyprus’ deputy head of mission Vakis Zissimos, and Yalcin Halil. Vamvakinou raises Cyprus issue in Australian Parliament A day after Erdogan’s re-election in Turkey It might be coincidental, but it is hard to overlook the relevance between the outcome of the elections in Turkey, and a motion on the Cypriot issue presented in federal Parliament by Greek Australian Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou. The motion was discussed at the same time that Recep Tayip Erdogan was celebrating his victory, which has raised concerns within the international community, about the future of democracy in Turkey. During the motion, present- (L-R) Hellenic RSL secretary Major Terry Kannellos, Greek Consul Dimitrios Michalopoulos, Hellenic RSL president Steve Kyritsis OAM, RSL Victoria representative Ian Goldie with his wife Lynese, at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Hellenic RSL. ed by the Calwell member and seconded by the Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Anthony Albanese on Monday, both Ms Vamvakinou and her fellow Greek Australian Labor MP Steve Georganas repeated the United Nation's position to unify the island and find a peaceful and viable solution for the benefit of all Cypriots. "For all of us who, over the NEOS KOSMOS Published since 1957 Published by Ethnic Publications Pty Ltd (ABN: 13005 255 087) of 169 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122. Printed by ACM Printing, 126 Fairbank Road, Clayton South 3168. No. 6056 Contacts Reception Phone: (03) 9482 4433 Fax: (03) 9482 2962 Email: enquiries@neoskosmos.com.au Advertising Phone: (03) 9482 4433 Email: advertising@neoskosmos.com.au Web: www.neoskosmos.com letters Email: letters@neoskosmos.com.au NEOS KOSMOS - English Publisher: Editor-in-chief: Address: Level 1, 169 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122 Subscriptions Phone: (03) 9482 4433 Email: subscriptions@neoskosmos.com.au Fax: (03) 9482 2962 Letters should not be more than 200 words and they must indicate your full name, address and a day time telephone number for verification. By submitting your letter to us for publication you agree that we may edit the letter for legal, space or other reasons and may, after the publication in the paper, republish it on the internet or in other media. Christopher Gogos Sotiris Hatzimanolis Editorial director: Nelly Skoufatoglou Journalists: Anastasia Tsirtsakis, Nikos Fotakis Contributors: Theodora Maios, Con Stamocostas, David Ross, George Stogiannou, Dean Kalimniou, Thanos Pappas, Zoe Thomaidou, Jeana Vithoulkas, Stella Angelaki-Katsiari, Yiannis Karakasis, Nick Metallinos, Alexandros Anifantis Graphic design: Peter Kelidis, Vangelis Karakasis, Thanos Pappas Proofreader: Allyson Griffith Mail: PO Box 6068 Hawthorn West, Victoria 3122 years and decades, have been associated with the plight of Cyprus and who advocate for a free, reunified, sovereign, democratic and independent Cyprus, we stand firm in our continued commitment to support and aid, with whatever resources we have at our disposal, those who are genuinely committed to reaching a peaceful, humane, fair, just and viable solution for the Cyprus problem," she said. "But formal negotiations in officialdom by themselves are not sufficient to bring about change and counter the politics of fear, hate and uncertainty. They often require backing and encouragement from civil society and even from the most unlikely of quarters." One such example was the symbolic initiative of two Australians, Stavros Protz (Tzortzis) and Yalcin Adal, respectively coming from Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot backgrounds, who made a 350km 16-day walk across Cyprus three months ago. Inspired by British writer Colin Thubron's 1975 travelogue Journey Into Cyprus, Yalcin and Stavros followed the same itinerary Thurbon did before the 1974 division of the island, sending a message that despite the events that occurred during these past four decades, "for these two mates who have become brothers Cyprus has no boundaries, no barriers, no minefields, no checkpoints, no green lines, no ghost towns and no lost homelands." The parliamentary discussion on Ms Vamvakinou's motion was attended by the High Commissioner of Cyprus to Australia Martha Mavrommati, the deputy head of the Cypriot mission Vakis Zissimos, and Yalcin, accompanied by his father Halil and his younger brother Yener. Unfortunately Stavros was unable to attend, as he is mourning the recent loss of his mother. Speaking to the house, Ms Vamvakinou mentioned that the two Australians' initiative was embraced by many Cypriots from both communities and finished her statement saying: "Australia has been proactive in the involvement in Cyprus. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have had the longest continuous presence in Cyprus, from 1964 until their departure in 2017 after 53 years. “Australia supports the establishment of the bi-communal NGO Cyprus Academic Dialogue, and the citizens' diplomacy program, instituted in 2010 during the Rudd-Gillard Labor Government and a project that our Australian High Commission in Cyprus continues to support today under the present government. “This is what we Australians do and [what] we do best. Our distinctive, down-to-earth political acumen is to try to find practical solutions to what appear to be insurmountable problems. Inspired by Yalcin and Stavros' ‘Journey into Cyprus: East2West’, this motion proposes a simple, practical measure to the Australian Government: to action its continued bipartisan support for the peacemaking efforts in Cyprus by reappointing a special envoy on Cyprus to actively promote dialogue, peace and reconciliation." Seconding the motion, Mr Georganas gave an account of the Cypriot tragedy: "As we know, in 1974, the island was occupied and nearly 40 per cent of the island still remains occupied," he said. "Since then, a so-called state has been declared, but it has only been recognised by one nation – the nation that invaded – in the entire world. Only they recognise that part of the island. It just happens that, ironically, as I said, only the northern part is recognised, and that is by the nation that invaded. There are still 1,600 people missing. These people still haven't been found. In that 40 per cent of the island, we have homes which owners have not been allowed to return to, and they are still not allowed to return." The member for Hindmarsh said that the two Australians' walk was "a symbol of peace, a symbol that people can work together and a symbol that there can be a just solution." Praising the "wonderful contribution" of the AFP that has been deployed to Cyprus as part of the UN peacekeeping forces in Cyprus, he said that it is "a pity that in 2017, the government saw fit to withdraw them." Mr Albanese also commemorated the Cypriot tragedy saying that "in the coming month, we will mark 44 years since the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey, 44 years without a resolution – a nation divided, with 37 per cent of the island still occupied in contravention of a number of United Nations resolutions and with over 200,000 people displaced." Stressing that he had already raised this issue in the parliament as federal MP 10 times prior to this occasion, the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure referred to the ties between Cyprus and Australia "another island nation, which more than 80,000 Cypriots of both Greek and Turkish background call home," saying that "the hope of justice and reunification" of Cyprus "very much lives on." After the motion was presented, the Australia-Cyprus parliamentary friendship group met with the Cypriot High Commissioner and the Halil family.
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