The Turkish invasion and the subsequent military occupation of more than a third of the territory of the Republic have been and continue to be disastrous for the island’s cultural heritage, Minister of Communications and Works Marios Demetriades has stressed.
The Minister was speaking at the launch of the Department of Antiquities’ publication concerning the proceedings of the International Workshop “Protecting the Cultural Heritage of Cyprus: Joining efforts in preventing the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage”.
The workshop, organised by the Department of Antiquities in collaboration with the Church of Cyprus and the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute, dealt with the extremely serious issue of the illicit trafficking of cultural goods and highlighted the value of the common efforts of numerous organisations and experts in the combating of this serious and worldwide problem, he added.
In recent years, he continued, the illicit trafficking of cultural goods and the destruction of cultural heritage in general are issues escalating in seriousness, especially in the geographical region in which Cyprus is situated.
He noted that the Turkish invasion and the subsequent military occupation of more than a third of the territory of the Republic have been and continue to be disastrous for the island’s cultural heritage. A large percentage of Cyprus’ cultural heritage remains inaccessible to the competent authorities. As a result, museums, monuments and sites have been neglected, destroyed and looted, and moveable antiquities have been illicitly trafficked and are still missing. Moreover, a very large number of antiquities from Cyprus have found their way into the antiquities markets worldwide.
However, he said, in recent years we have had some very positive developments which have been the result of close cooperation and mutual respect and understanding between countries and tireless efforts of government organisations, the Church of Cyprus and private institutions and individuals. One of the most important developments has been the largest to date repatriation of Cypriot antiquities which were repatriated from Munich, Germany.
As a result of that, 173 ecclesiastical objects that had been illegally removed from numerous Byzantine and Medieval churches in the occupied part of Cyprus following the Turkish invasion of 1974 and had ended up in Germany, were repatriated in November 2013 and are temporarily exhibited at the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation, in Nicosia, until the day when it will be possible to return them to their original setting, he concluded.
Presenting the proceedings of the International Workshop, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Erato Kozakou Marcoullis urged the widest possible circulation of this publication not only in all the relevant government departments of Cyprus, but also in foreign countries and among non-governmental stakeholders, nationally and internationally.
She noted that the international workshop and its proceedings have provided a very important framework for international collaboration and action in the common struggle to protect the cultural heritage of humanity, especially of those nations whose cultural heritage, due to military occupation, remains at great risk of being totally erased, to the detriment of the countries concerned but also to the detriment of humanity as a whole.
The general destruction of cultural heritage as a weapon of war and conquest cannot and must not continue. Only by joining efforts we can effectively deal with such shameful policies, she concluded.
In her address, Ambassador of Switzerland to Cyprus Gabriela Nutzi Sulpizio expressed her country`s commitment to help safeguard Cyprus` heritage and referred to the agreement signed between Cyprus and Switzerland on 11 January 2013 on the import and repatriation of cultural property, which entered into force last February.
She said that this agreement constitutes an important step towards the enhancement of the protection of Cyprus` cultural heritage. She also expressed the need for international cooperation in preventing the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage, adding that no country can achieve this on its own.
Acting Antiquities Department Director Despo Pilides in her address said that the illicit trafficking of cultural goods is a persistent problem, particularly thorny for countries endowed with a rich cultural heritage, noting that the fight against illicit excavation and trafficking is a priority for the Department of Antiquities.
“Our aim is to achieve long-term results and concerted measures are taken towards this direction”, she concluded.
The Minister of Education also attended the event.