CEC Office of Communications: Churches urge European Union to help with protection of the cultural heritage in the Republic of Cyprus (14april 2010)

CEC Office of Communications, Press Release No. 10/17e, 14 April 2010

Churches urge European Union to help with protection of the cultural heritage in the Republic of Cyprus

Protection of the cultural heritage in the Northern part of Cyprus was called for at the seminar hosted today by MEP Dr. Eleni Theocharous, under the high patronage of His Excellency Dr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, the Representation of the Church of Cyprus to the EU and in co-operation with the Church and Society Commission of CEC. The destruction of Holy sites in the occupied areas of Cyprus still remains.

The seminar was opened by His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos II. In his opening speech he said: “We ask the European Union to support our demand strongly and powerfully and to work systematically and effectively in order to restore and ensure respect for religious freedoms in the occupied part of our island; to put an end to the looting and plundering of our sacred sites and monuments and to protect our religious sites.”

Two programmes concerning the restoration of cultural and religious monuments have already been completed within the occupied part of Cyprus, the Agios Nikolaos Church (Bedestan) and Emerke Hamam. There is also another programme currently running which consists of a fund of €800 000 for the architectural documentation of religious monuments. In this respect, speakers and participants of the seminar requested from the EU Institutions, and especially those with the proper competencies such as the Commissioner for Enlargement and the Commissioner for Culture and Education as well as the Committee for Culture and Education in the European Parliament, to enhance and increase their engagements in view of saving the religious and other cultural heritage that runs the risk of absolute destruction. We also call for the respect of religious freedom and human rights in the occupied part of Cyprus for all religious denominations. We consider it our duty, within a civilized society, to respect, protect and save the religious and cultural heritage of the occupied part of Cyprus which constitutes, in fact, a civilization belonging to the EU and the international community.

For more information:
Ms Elizabeta Kitanovic
Executive Secretary for Human Rights and Communication
Church and Society Commission of CEC
Rue Joseph II, 174
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel. +32 2 230 17 32
Fax +32 2 231 14 13
E-Mail: eki@cec-kek.be
Website: www.cec-kek.org

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

The Church and Society Commission of CEC links member churches and associated organisations of CEC with the European Union’s institutions, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, NATO and the UN (on European matters). Its task is to help the churches study church and society questions from a theological and social-ethical perspective, especially those with a European dimension, and to represent common positions of the member churches in their relations with political institutions working in Europe.