London, Thanasis Gavos

The importance of Msi need to protect the Cypriot religious heritage in the possessed underlined pro-Cypriot North London Conservative MP Theresa Villiers by placement in the House of Commons.

In a discussion on the protection of religious heritage around the world, Ms Villiers highlighted a number of concerns about the destruction and destruction of churches on the island.

“Cyprus has an ancient civilization that dates back to 9,000 BC. Being close to the Holy Land, it was one of the first countries to embrace Christianity,” said the British MP.

He then cited historical evidence about the presence in Cyprus of the Apostles Paul, Barnabas and Mark and emphasized that the island has a huge number of churches, monasteries, mosaics, frescoes and icons from the early days of Christianity.

He then referred to the Turkish invasion and continued occupation of 37% of Cypriot territory and as he said since 1974 approximately 500 churches have been captured or neglected, 77 have been converted into mosques, 28 have been used as barracks by the Turkish army and 13 are believed to they have been used as warehouses or stables. Also, thousands of church icons of incalculable value have been looted.

He drew the attention of British MPs to the “flourishing” illegal trade in cultural artefacts, which “not only perpetuates the destruction of religious sites, but also finances criminal activities”.

He pointed out that many religious places in Cyprus are not accessible because Turkish military zones have been created there.

“There are alarming cases of Orthodox and Maronite Christians living in gated communities in the Turkish-controlled area of ​​Cyprus who have been unjustly prevented from holding religious services and practicing their faith,” said Theresa Villiers.

In closing, he appealed to the British government to work together with international partners “to protect the cultural heritage of Cyprus, to prosecute the illegal trade in artefacts and above all to put pressure on the Turkish authorities to restore full freedom of religion in north of Cyprus, as well as to give Cypriots the freedom to determine their future, free from Turkish military control”.