The funeral of former MP and former Vice-President of the Democratic Rally (DISY), Katie Clerides, who passed away on Monday at the age of 76, was held in deep sorrow, in the presence of President of the Republic, the President of the House of Representatives, leaders and representatives of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parties, current and former MPs and a large crowd.
Eulogies were delivered by the President of DISY and House President, Annita Demetriou, Meltem Onurkan-Samani, a friend of the deceased and founder of the Cyprus Peace and Dialogue Centre (CPDC), and Andia Ioannides Charaki, a friend of the deceased. A poem was read by her maid of honour, Androula Shati.
In her eulogy, Annita Demetriou said – among other things – that ‘Katie Clerides never fit into stereotypes, she did not fit into titles, she did not fit into boxes, because she was and will always be something much more, a rare person, a special friend and a great colleague,’ she pointed out.
‘Her greatest desire was to see her country free and reunited. She never stopped hoping and working hard for this, until her last breath,’ she noted.
‘She opened roads, she knew how to build bridges, she brought groups of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots together. She believed in dialogue, she believed in coexistence,’ Demetriou said.
In her eulogy, Meltem Onurkan-Samani said that Katie Clerides remains ‘through all these years a role model enlightening our mission toward peace, a real peace, one grounded on honesty and human dignity.’
‘You were always frank in saying that the majorities were not ready for a peace accord, even 60 years after 1964, yet you never stopped working for it. You were eager to build understanding where others only built rhetoric,’ she emphasised.
On her part, Andia Ioannides Charaki said that Katie Clerides’ books reflect her thoughts and experiences on conflict resolution, social justice and reconciliation, noting that her political action focused on the rapprochement of the two communities towards a common homeland with equal rights.
“Katie Clerides was a beacon of hope, endurance and unwavering dedication to justice. She was modest, far from showing off, always correct and an idealist,” she said. “She did not hesitate to politically judge those who deviated from the principles of her party and deviated from the correct, exemplary political principles that they should respect,” she pointed out.
Katie Clerides, was the daughter of former President of Cyprus Glafcos Clerides. She was born in London on May 10, 1949. She had served three terms as a Democratic Rally MP in the 1990s and early 2000s and was the first woman Vice President of the party. She was a strong advocate for the reunification of Cyprus and rapprochement between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. She also championed causes to do with human rights and animal rights.