The Department of Antiquities works systematically to protect our cultural heritage, Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr. Vassiliki Kassianidou, said addressing a conference, which was held on Saturday in Nicosia.
“One of the most important aspects of the Cyprus issue, which emerged after the Turkish invasion of 1974, is the systematic looting and trafficking of the cultural heritage in the Turkish-occupied territories and the efforts made for conservation and restoration,” underlined Kassianidou.
She also pointed out that the Department of Antiquities of the Deputy Ministry of Culture “works systematically with the aim of protecting and preserving our religious and cultural heritage, through the United Nations”, which – as she said – is done “within its capabilities, in a situation which it does not control, due to the continued occupation, which does not allow the exercise of effective control over the areas occupied by Turkey.”
Kassianidou added that the Department of Antiquities “continues almost daily to declare ancient monuments in the occupied territories, which it did not stop doing even after the Turkish invasion of 1974.”
“The very important work of the Bicommunal Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage is also worth mentioning, which has preserved dozens of occupied monuments, saving them from certain destruction,” she concluded.
The 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the subsequent occupation of the island, has heavily affected Cyprus’ cultural heritage.
According to the Department of Antiquities, 197 ancient monuments are registered in the occupied part of the island, based on the Cyprus Antiquities Law, while the procedure was left incomplete for hundreds of other monuments and archaeological sites due to the Turkish invasion.
Museums in occupied Cyprus have been looted, while ecclesiastical icons, frescoes and mosaics have been removed from churches and in many cases have been traced in Europe’s illegal antiquities trade markets and in auctions around the world.
Source: Cyprus News Agency