Cyprus: religious rights must be respected in the northern part of Cyprus.

EPP Group to closely follow all developments

The EPP Group hosted a high-level conference entitled 'Cyprus: at the crossroads of cultures and religions' dedicated to assessing the situation of religious rights in the country. The speakers all agreed: the destruction of Christian heritage in the northern part of Cyprus must come to an end and religious rights must be restored. EPP Group MEPs said that the Group will raise the problems and will closely follow the situation.

The conference was held on the occasion of the publication of the Cypriot calendar called 'Cyprus: At the crossroads of two worlds' which is an exclusive collection of religious paintings and icons from the northern part of Cyprus. The event was organised by the EPP Group's Interreligious Dialogue initiative under the auspices of Mario Mauro MEP, Head of the Italian (PDL) Delegation of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

In his opening speech, Mr Mauro praised the rich historical, cultural and religious heritage of Cyprus and recalled the sufferings and destruction which took place as a result of the Turkish occupation of its northern part in 1974: Hundreds of thousands of people left the northern part of Cyprus; properties were confiscated; religious buildings were destroyed, taken or converted to Muslim mosques; civic and religious rights were violated. The Italian MEP noted that it was our responsibility to follow the situation and keep these issues on the European agenda. "It is impossible to destroy the faith and spirit of centuries. Cyprus will not only be the island of memory, but an island for hope as well."

In his speech, George Ioannou, Head of the Office of the Representation of the Church of Cyprus in Brussels, highlighted that religious freedoms are not respected in the occupied territory, the customs of the Christian population are not respected and that religious monuments were ruined. HE Porphyrios of Neapolis, representative of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus to the EU, underlined that mutual respect between religious groups prevailed in Cyprus for centuries, which changed after the occupation of the northern part of the country. In his presentation, he revealed a long list of pressing issues: rejection of the organisation of Christian celebrations; prohibition of books; restriction of visiting certain religious monuments; disappearance of religious pieces of arts (about 15,000) and the desecration of churches. Out of the 520 Christian churches in Cyprus, more than 80 were converted into mosques, several were destroyed and transformed into cultural centres, cinemas, museums or even bars and hotels.

Father Joe Vella Gauci, Advisor for Religious Freedom and International Relations at COMECE, talked about the situation of the Catholic Community, especially the Maronite and Roman Catholics on the island. Two out of the four Maronite villages in the north area are in the military zone thus face significant limitations in everyday life. He added that the Catholic population is under the threat of assimilation and that Cyprus should keep its cultural diversity and shall serve as a bridge and crossroads between East and West. In her presentation, Giovanna Parravicini, researcher at the Russian Christian Foundation, highlighted the rich cultural heritage of Cypriot Christian art and gave a detailed explanation on the paintings and icons found in the Cyprus calendar.

In his closing remarks, Ioannis Kasoulides MEP, Head of the Cypriot Delegation and Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, also enumerated the major destructions of the Turkish occupation. He expressed the Group commitment to the respect of freedom of religion in Cyprus and on the situation of Christians in the Middle-East in general. Mr Kasoulides added that some pressing issues call for immediate actions, like the state of some churches and monasteries. Jan Olbrycht MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group responsible for Intercultural Relations, expressed that the Group is committed to continuous dialogue with different religious groups and will follow the developments in Cyprus in all regards. In this process, the next Interreligious Dialogue conference will be held in Cyprus.