The Hellenic Republic is always next to the struggle that Cyprus is making for the repatriation of all cultural goods, which were stolen and suffered all the brutality of the Turkish invasion in 1974, the Minister of Culture of the Hellenic Republic, Lina Mendoni, said on Friday, after her private meeting in the Archdiocese with the Archbishop of Cyprus George, who noted that the problem is not only the repatriation of the stolen but also the maintenance of churches and buildings in the occupied territories.
Mrs. Mendoni, when asked by journalists about the destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied territories and how the Greek state can contribute to stop this looting and repatriate Cypriot antiquities, replied that the Republic of Cyprus itself is making great efforts and especially the Deputy Ministry of Culture for the repatriation of all the cultural goods that were stolen and received all this brutality all these years since 1974.
He added that the Greek state, the Hellenic Republic is always next to the struggle that Cyprus is paying. “Obviously we are grateful to the Cypriot Church for all the support and for everything it has offered to preserve the Christian heritage in the occupied territories,” said the Minister.
He also stated that “we are here to sign with my counterpart and fellow Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou, the cultural agreement between the two countries”, indicating that an essential part of this agreement is the chapter on the repatriation of stolen cultural goods and in general cultural goods that are trafficked illegally.
He pointed out that this precisely indicates the strong political will of both Governments to work together in all international forums, something which, as he said, is already being done. Simply, he continued, “in this way we further strengthen our demand, so that the forcibly exported cultural goods return as soon as possible”.
He recalled that recently there was also a large repatriation of antiquities to Cyprus (meaning the repatriated archaeological and ecclesiastical objects from Munich, which had been stolen and illegally exported from occupied Cyprus by the antiquities collector Aydin Dikmen and held by the German authorities).
He noted that the morale now, which is recognized internationally – and this really helps both countries because both countries have faced looting of cultural property – is the global climate that has been created, “where public opinion, the global common opinion, favors the return of cultural goods to the countries in which they were created and in which they were born”.
The Archbishop of Cyprus stated, for his part, that the problem is not only the repatriation of the stolen goods, but also the maintenance of churches and buildings in the occupied territories. He indicated that the Turks leave them either to the mercy of time or to other uses in order to eliminate every trace of Hellenism and Christianity in those places. “We care and we want our voice to be heard that we also want to preserve those buildings, our temples, the points of our culture, which today are under occupation,” he said.
Asked to comment on Turkish intransigence and the latest developments in the Cyprus issue, Kyproos Georgios said that “they (the Turkish side) do whatever they think is in their interest. We should understand that 'give constantly' and continuous concessions do not appease the conqueror. We should all, both the Cypriot and Greek Governments and all the factors of all Hellenism, sit down and find a new way of asserting our rights”, he said.
He added that “by constantly begging for talks to start, to what end and with what potential are we doing nothing.” He said that a new assertive policy should be adopted “so that through it we can survive as Hellenism and recover those that are currently under occupation”.
The Archbishop thanked the Greek Government “for its support towards us”, saying that “no Greek, no Greek Cypriot should forget that we are part of the nation and that we are here the last bastion of Hellenism. If Cyprus falls, the deconstruction of the whole of Greece will begin. We have the support and assurance of the Minister that these are thoughts that are always accepted by the whole of Hellenism and that Hellenism will never abandon us”, he said.
Mrs. Mendoni, moreover, said that it was a warm and friendly discussion about issues concerning “culture, the culture of Cyprus, our common culture and our common cultural heritage, and of course we also talked about the general issues of Hellenism ».
He added that “it is obvious that every time we come to Cyprus we feel that we are in our homeland. We are in a very lively part of Hellenism and what we have to say also because of the very sad anniversary of 50 years (of the Turkish invasion) is that our obligation, the sacred duty of all of us is to work, each one of his own meterizi, from his own post, for a free and united Cyprus”.
“It is our moral duty to work for a free Cyprus”, wrote the Minister
In the morning the Minister of Culture of Greece visited the Tomb of the Makedonitissa, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Culture of Cyprus, Vasiliki Kassianidou. Mrs. Mendoni laid a wreath at the Tomb of Makedonitissa and received information about the Tomb and the history of the transport aircraft “Noratlas”.
Ms. Mendoni also signed the Guest Book where he wrote: “Honor and glory to the heroes. We bow our heads and worship their memory. 50 years have passed since the invasion. It is the moral duty of all of us to work for a free and united Cyprus. Gratitude to all those who keep their memory, the nation's memory, alive”.
Source: KYPE
