Turkish Cyprus condemns arson attack on mosque in Greek Cyprus

Page last updated at 05:02 GMT, Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - 10:02 EST

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Today's Zaman:

Foreign Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) on Tuesday denounced an arson attack on the Köprülü Hacı İbrahim Ağa Mosque, located in the Greek Cypriot city of Limassol.

“We [the KKTC government] strongly condemn the arson attack on the Köprülü Mosque in the city of Limassol in Greek Cyprus on Friday, April 13, that caused the gate of the mosque to be seriously damaged,” said Özgürgün in a written statement. He added that racism and intolerance have reached such high levels in Greek Cyprus that the Greek leadership should openly condemn such attitudes and ensure that the perpetrators of incidents such as this are tried in court without delay.

The Greek Cypriot leadership has demonstrated it is responsible for the rapidly growing racism and intolerance in southern Cyprus by remaining silent and not having prevented incidents such as this, actions which have served only to encourage further violent acts and attitudes, said Özgürgün. He said the Greek Cypriot leadership should take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of religious and historic places and added that the KKTC government will monitor the Greek Cypriot government's actions in this regard.

The KKTC Foreign Ministry has already contacted the UN peacekeeping force on the island.

Read the whole story: Today's Zaman

Comments

One gate?

April 18, 2012 by Irlandos (United Kingdom ), 1 year 4 weeks ago

Instead of being upset that one gate was damaged, why don't the Turkish Cypriots look themselves in the mirror and ponder the fate of so many Christian churches in the north that have been vandalised, robbed, turned into stables, turned into latrines since 1974?

Re: One gate?

April 18, 2012 by Midfield Maestro (United Kingdom ), 1 year 4 weeks ago

@Irlandos:
That's true, but all religions and religious places of worship much be respected. This is unacceptable and the culprits must be brought to justice. What seperates the good guys and the bad guys in Cyprus is the fact that the Republic of Cyprus has always welcomed freedom or religion and speech and has respected and upheld human right. This is the complete opposite to what has happened in the North. The answer is not to undermine crimes such as this one but to ensure that our respect for all religions continues.