Day: March 17, 2023

The war in Ukraine leads to the end of unity of the Orthodox world, Secretary General of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) Maximos Charakopoulos said on Thursday, during the beginning of the Assembly’s works in Limassol, Cyprus.

The meeting is hosted by the Cyprus Parliament and brings together parliamentarians from 14 parliaments of European, Asian and African countries.

On the agenda are issues related to the war in Ukraine, the future of Europe, the unity of the Orthodox world, the dangers for Christians in the Middle East, the violation of Christian monuments in Turkey, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Kosovo and the occupied territories of Cyprus.

Addressing the opening session of the deliberations Charakopoulos said that the participants have gathered in Cyprus, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, West and East, which developed from the time of the Apostles as a durable bastion of Christianity.

He praised the role of the Cyprus MP representative at the IAO Panikos Leonidou, head of the Cyprus delegation, saying that his role served as a catalyst in the Assembly.

Charakopoulos said that IAO has condemned the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the violation of the principles of international law and calls on involved states to come to the table of negotiations and to resolve their differences in a peaceful way.

?e also said that the success of the unity of the Orthodox world, which was the vision of the initiators of the establishment of the IAO 30 years ago, is badly affected by the war in Ukraine.

He added that the President of IAO, Russian Sergey Cavrilov is a member of the Duma and because of the sanctions he cannot attend the various meetings of the Assembly.

IAO Secretary General expressed his condolences to the Turkish and Syrian people for the devastating earthquake, as well as to Greece for the tragic train accident in Tempi.

On behalf of the Cyprus Parliament, MP Panikos Leonidou welcomed the delegates and reminded them that Cyprus was a founding member of the organization in 1993 and contributes to its activities since then.

He spoke of the importance of the unity of the Orthodox world and its role in the principles and values that are at the background of our cultures.

Leonidou noted the importance of the protection of Christian monuments and reminded all of the destruction of monuments in the occupied areas of Cyprus by Turkey following the 1974 invasion.

He called on delegates to exert their influence in their national parliaments to accede to the “Nicosia Convention” for cultural heritage, signed during the Cyprus Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in 2017.

The opening ceremony was addressed by video conference, by the Russian President of IAO Sergey Gavrilov.

On Saturday the volume of “Hagia Sophia: The Temples of God’s Wisdom around the world”, will be presented and includes 37 historical emblematic temples dedicated to the Wisdom of God, from the British Isles to China and among them are also temples in Cyprus.

IAO SG Charakopoulos said that this is a cause that affects not only the Christians world, the Orthodox or Catholics, but the whole world. He also said that this is an opportunity to point out similar cases of looting of Christian Orthodox monuments in Cyprus and elsewhere.

The delegates will meet today with Archbishop Georgios, the President of the Republic, the President of the Parliament, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Mayor of Nicosia.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) had a meeting on Friday Minister of State for Law Reform of Ireland, James Browne with whom they discussed about their cooperation.

According to a CMP press release, the CMP Members reiterated their deep appreciation to Ireland for its long-standing financial contribution to its operations. They also discussed the scope and nature of the training that the Irish Police will undertake to assist CMP in improving its investigation techniques and information management.

The next step will be a thorough needs assessment mission by a senior Irish investigation officer in the coming months, it is added.

The Minister was accompanied by the Commissioner of the Garda Siochana Andrew Harris and the Ambassador of Ireland to Cyprus Connor Long.

The CMP was established in 1981 by an agreement between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot leaders, under the auspices of the United Nations. The CMP Project on the Exhumation, Identification and Return of Remains of Missing Persons in Cyprus became operational in 2006 and is co-funded by the European Union.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus can emerge as a model for peaceful coexistence of people of different religions and cultures, through the resolution of the Cyprus problem, President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, said, welcoming the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), at the Presidential Palace on Friday.

Cyprus has always been a rich mix of people, cultures, ideas, and religions, the President said, noting that the Orthodox faith of the majority of Cypriots never turned against people who had or have a different faith. “Never, in the modern history of the island, has diversity, and especially religious diversity, been a source of tension or a dividing element between the inhabitants of Cyprus. On the contrary, many times it has worked as a refuge for peaceful coexistence, in a spirit of mutual respect for all fundamental human rights and freedoms, including of course religious ones,” he pointed out.

Through the solution of the Cyprus problem, he noted, “which is the top priority of our government, Cyprus can emerge as a model of peaceful coexistence of people of different religions and cultures. A vision that we hope, even now, will be embraced by Turkey, as well as by the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community,” President Christodoulides wished.

The President assured IAO members of his absolute commitment to the effort to end the Turkish occupation and achieve the liberation and reunification of Cyprus through a peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem.

“A solution that should be based on the relevant UN Resolutions and Security Council Decisions and in line with the principles and values of the European Union, of which Cyprus is a member state and will continue to be after a possible solution to the Cyprus problem,” he said, adding that the solution should create an independent and truly sovereign state, free from any anachronistic guarantees, the presence of occupying troops, but also the military presence of any third country.

He noted, however, that a functional and viable solution cannot be unbalanced. “It cannot give such privileges or powers to one of the two communities in a way that violates the law, basic principles and values that are valid or applied in no other country,” he stressed.

Referring to IAO, the President noted that its contribution is extremely important on the modern global dialogue on human rights, the peaceful coexistence of peoples and the collective response to other regional and international problems that go beyond the narrow borders of states.

Highlighting the importance of parliamentary diplomacy, he spoke of promising and optimistic results, “especially, when this effort is based on common values, such as those advocated by the Orthodox faith, namely Humanism, Peace, Democracy and Justice,” he added.

President Christodoulides thanked the IAO for the principles it maintains towards the Republic of Cyprus through the repeated adoption of resolutions, with which it expresses in various ways its support for the just struggle of Cyprus in general, but also in particular for specific aspects of the Cyprus problem, such as the destruction of religious and cultural heritage in the occupied territories. He also expressed the support of Cyprus, the Cypriot House of Representatives, to IAO’s efforts and actions.

Secretary General of the IAO, Maximos Charakopoulos and the head of the Cypriot delegation, MP Panikos Leonidou, invited the President of the Republic to the presentation of the volume “Hagia Sophia: the churches of the Wisdom of God around the world” which will be presented on Saturday in Limassol, presenting the President with a copy of the volume.

Charakopoulos, referring to the Cyprus problem, noted that “Ankara, which follows a revisionist policy towards its neighbours, integrated into the ideology of the Neo-Ottomanism, has not shown any willingness to contribute to solving the problem.” He expressed the hope for the peace talks to restart, based on the UN decisions, “with the more active involvement of the EU,” as he said.

“We all look forward to the day when Cyprus will be united, without occupying troops, without the outdated guarantees, with full equality for all citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, which will prosper within the European family”, he added.

Leonidou made special reference to the presence of the Vice-President of the Lebanese Parliament, whose presence in Cyprus through the IAO “made it possible to promote Cyprus’ relations with Lebanon”, after the meeting he held with the President of the Republic on Thursday. He also noted the Cyprus delegation has been contributing to the development of this fruitful religious diplomacy in promoting common goals and principles and highlighting the problem of Cyprus since the invasion and occupation of Turkey.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency