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PRESERVATION OF CYPRIOT HERITAGE

Ronald L. Schlicher, U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus

Cultural heritage is a key component of the Action for Cooperation and Trust (ACT) Program and, as the U.S. Ambassador, I am proud that our nation’s foreign assistance funds are assisting Cypriots to care for their ancient monuments. The monuments throughout Cyprus are a tremendously valuable economic resource for the whole island. They are also a special political resource for each Cypriot community, since they offer the island’s communities an opportunity to show tolerance for fellow Cypriots and to accord dignity to each other’s memories.

The very cultural identity of Cyprus is the sum total of the churches, mosques, temples and tombs, the walls and houses, mills and monuments that dot the island. They are what remain of those who have come and gone, like the Phoenicians, the Crusaders and the Venetians, and those who are Cypriots today. All of the great history of this place has been a part of the formation of every Cypriot, on whichever side of the green line, or the separate emotional divide, he or she lives.

This tremendous cultural heritage draws many thousands of tourists to the island annually, thus contributing to economic growth. Viewing Cypriot monuments as an economic resource does not diminish their cultural value. Indeed, it offers good reason to all Cypriots to preserve them as part of the island’s rich history. The first site seen by most visitors arriving at Larnaca is the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, whose image shimmers in the mirror-like salt lake. Similarly, thousands of tourists annually visit Famagusta, one of Europe’s greatest remaining medieval cities. All Cypriots should be proud of this shared heritage. They should also be pleased that this heritage draws so many foreign visitors. And we should all rejoice that these ancient monuments help fuel the island’s economy.

In addition to their economic importance, the preservation of cultural monuments contributes to intercommunal reconciliation and ultimately to the defining of a Cypriot identity based on the embrace of a shared history. The aims of U.S. assistance efforts in Cyprus are reunification of the island and reconciliation of its two main communities. Old wounds must heal. One part of the healing process is the revitalization of cultural roots from which so many on the island have been severed. The churches of the north and mosques of the south were once centers for thriving communities. They live on in the historical memory of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Sadly, so long as these structures remain decaying memories, they will stand as obstacles to reconciliation. Our aim is to help Cypriots restore their shared history and thus to renew the pride of those for whom they mean so much. In partnership with UNDP, the United States did this at Hala Sultan Tekke in Larnaca and we look forward to repeating this success across the island.

In addition to restoring the dignity with which individual communities on the island expect for their own monuments, the restoration of this important heritage advances tolerance, a vital precondition for both reconciliation and reunification. Turkish Cypriots should look with pride on the historic churches in their midst and likewise Greek Cypriots should treat the island’s historic mosques with the same respect. Pride, dignity and respect do not come easily when the monuments themselves are in disrepair. The historical comity between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities can be fully restored only if the two communities show respect for each other’s monuments and memories, and embrace their common interest in doing so.

The ACT Program sees the island’s cultural heritage as an economic resource as well as a means of communal reconciliation. Tourists expect to find monuments that are well cared for and sites that are well presented. Cypriots themselves feel the sharp sting of intolerance when their own monuments are treated in an undignified way. In past years, we have had great success in working with the Nicosia Master Plan and restoring the city’s Venetian walls. Under ACT, we would like to see that success expanded in Nicosia and throughout the island. Cultural sites should be a source of both income and pride, thus fostering sustainable economic development and intercommunal reconciliation at the same time.