By Jean Christou
THE MARONITE community has condemned the actions of those of its members allegedly caught spying against the Republic.
The reaction came after Thursday’s arrest of a Maronite from occupied Kormakitis, suspected of spying on behalf of the Turks – the second such arrest in the past four months.
In a written statement issued after a meeting to discuss the issue, community representatives said they “unanimously and strongly” condemned acts of treason and espionage against the Cyprus Republic by members of the Maronite community.
Maronite parliamentary representative Antonis Hadjiroussos and Akel deputy Avraam Antoniou took part in the meeting, along with Maronite religious leaders.
“Isolated actions like the ones reported from time to time are unacceptable, illegal and are carried out by people with no morals or principles,” said the statement, signed by Hadjiroussos.
It also said that Maronites stood by the struggle for justice and freedom in Cyprus and for a country where all communities can live freely and enjoy human rights.
Over 2,200 Maronites live in Cyprus, but less than 200 still live in the north of the island.
“The Maronite community, which has been completely uprooted and whose human rights are violated by the Turkish invading forces, is carrying out its own struggle to survive,” the statement said.
On Thursday, police arrested Maronite Avgoustinos Skoullou, 25, after documents about National Guard installations and weapons systems were found in his possession as he prepared to cross to the north, police said. He has been remanded for eight days.
In October, another Maronite, Georgios Josephides, was arrested. He faces charges of supplying Turkish Cypriot intelligence with Greek Cypriot military secrets.
Josephides claimed police had coerced him into confessing, and that he was in fact an informant of the Greek Cypriot side. Avgoustinos also claims that he was in fact spying for the National Guard.
The Maronite community enjoys free movement between the two sides under the 1975 Vienna agreement on the enclaved. The Maronites are Uniats, Roman Catholics who have kept their oriental ritual while recognising the authority of the Pope.
