CYPRUS CULTURAL DESTRUCTION.
Sign the petition
http://cyprusculturaldestruction.com/home
–
www.Apodimos.com
We invite
all
Greeks, Cypriotes and Greek and Cypriote Emigrants,
also our
Hellenes brothers
and any
off theirs friends and family
to sign the
petition
for
destruction and desecration of Cyprus' religious and cultural heritage.
For this reason we as
Apodimos.com
show them the below information
and
please to sign the petition

The pillage,
destruction anddesecration of Cyprus' religious and cultural heritage
in the
occupied parts of Cyprus by Turkey
has been
brought about by the continuing occupation of more than a third of the
island's territory
and has led to incalculable loss. Unfortunately,
every effort
undertaken by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) authorities to protect the cultural heritage of Cyprus has
been unsuccessful.This
has been
due to the unwillingness of the Turkish occupation army to comply with
international conventions.

A detailed
report
on the condition of the monuments in the occupied part of Cyprus, prepared in
1975 by the Canadian representative of UNESCO
in Cyprus,
J. Dalibard,
was not published,
as a result
of Turkish intervention.

Various
documents confirm that during the Turkish military invasion
and
during the following thirty-six years of occupation,
a plethora
of
archaeological and religious sites have been damaged.
The destruction of
historic
monuments and the desecration of religious sites
are important
issues
for the people of Cyprus.
These
monuments and religious places
represent a
significant part of Cyprus’ vast cultural and religious heritage.
For years, the
Government of
the Republic of Cyprus
and the
Church of Cyprus have tried, before various forums,
to
disseminate information
on
the destruction of their cultural property
and to
repatriate the stolen artifacts which were taken from religious sites
in the northern part of Cyprus.

The
practises of
the Turkish occupation army,
which inter alia
include the
following, should be condemned by the international community:
-
The
willful desecration, pillage, looting and destruction of around 500
churches and religious sites
belonging to
the
Greek-Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Cyprus,
the
Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate of
Jerusalem,
the
Holy
Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, the Roman Catholic Church,
the
Catholic-ArmenianChurch,
the
Catholic-Maronite Church,
the
Jewish
community,
as well as the
Protestant Church,
along
with
their cemeteries;
-
The
conversion of a considerable number
of
Christian churches
into
military camps, mosques, stables, hencoops, oxen
and
sheep-stalls;
-
The
usage, today,
of
some
of
Christian Churches
as
wheat-chambers,
store rooms and granaries;
-
The
renting or sale of some
of
Christian Churches
to
private individuals,
who use them as art studios, carpentry workshops, parking stations,
coffee shops, residences, cultural centres, gymnasia, ceramics workshops,
hotels, pubs, theatres, nightclubs, museums, ottoman baths
(hamam),
sports clubs and dancing schools;
and,
-
The
fundamental and massive violations of human rights
and
religious
freedoms in
Cyprus,
as a
direct result from the continuing Turkish military
occupation.

This
website
contains an on line petition requesting that the religious rights
and
freedoms of the people of Cyprus be respected by the Government of Turkey; that
the cultural artifacts be repatriated; and, that the cultural monuments in the
occupied territory of Northern Cyprus be preserved……..
http://cyprusculturaldestruction.com/home
What We Ask
We invite you to forward this website to your
friends and family and sign the petition by clicking on the “Sign
the Petition” now.