MP Kostis Efstathiou, member of the Cypriot delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), participated today in a meeting of the PACE Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Mass Media in Paris.
In his intervention on the issue of the destruction of cultural identity in wartime and in peacetime, Mr Efstathiou stressed that cultural heritage must in any case be preserved as the apple of the eye, as its capture and destruction inflict an irreparable blow to the historical memory, development and continuity of every country.
Efstathiou said that Cyprus is a typical example of the pursued and methodical erasure by occupying Turkey of its unique identity and rich cultural heritage. Turkey, Mr Efstathiou stressed, since its invasion of Cyprus in 1974 until today, has systematically desecrated or altered religious and cultural monuments, mainly Orthodox monuments, while many church icons, objects and antiquities have been stolen or illegally exported from Cyprus and important collections have disappeared. The current efforts to restore the monuments do not absolve Turkey and the occupation regime from the enormous responsibility they bear for the destruction of the cultural heritage in the country. Efstathiou and called on all member states to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on offences relating to cultural property, known as the Nicosia Convention.
Efstathiou also informed the Commission members about the response of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on its Report on the consequences of the pandemic in the fields of education and culture. Welcoming the priority given by the two institutions of the Council of Europe to education and culture and the programmes established in these fields, Mr Efstathiou underlined that national plans of action should be launched in case of crises, drawing lessons from the recent example of the pandemic. The competent authorities in the Member States, Mr Efstathiou stressed, must ensure unhindered access to these two basic goods for vulnerable groups of the population, especially children with disabilities, who face additional difficulties and challenges. At the same time, Mr Efstathiou stressed, the role of independent authorities should be strengthened so that they can monitor and intervene in a timely manner to ensure the best interests of persons with disabilities.
(The text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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