Talat: no systematic destruction of Greek heritage

TURKISH Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat has hit back at comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the cultural heritage in the north is being destroyed.

Talat was quoted in the Turkish media yesterday as saying that no one could prove there had been systematic damage to Greek Cypriot cultural heritage. He said he was ready to discuss the issue with anyone who said such destruction had been carried out deliberately.

On Tuesday after a meeting with religious leaders, including Archbishop Chrysostomos II, Merkel said the EU could not turn a blind eye to the destruction of churches and other religious sites in the north.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pettering also echoed her comments, saying that EU principles and values provided for respect of freedom, justice, peace and solidarity.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the destruction of churches or other religious sites in some countries, as we see it happening in the northern part of Cyprus,” Merkel said.

Talat put a religious spin on Merkel’s comments, saying: “As Turkish Cypriots have not been converted to Christianity, where were the representatives of Turkish Cypriots in the inter-religious dialogue meeting held in Brussels on Tuesday? Cypriot Muslims were not invited to that meeting, but people were freely talking about them,” he said. “There has been no intentional, systematic destruction and I am ready to discuss anyone who claims otherwise.”

He said the ‘TRNC’ had made repeated requests to UNESCO and the EU for funding to protect cultural heritage but nothing had ever come through due to Greek Cypriot opposition.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.