A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
|
|
|
| Volume 6 Number 36 - Tuesday, September 7th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
|
• Search Engine
•
OCN
Website
|
The Orthodox Christian News Service |
|
|
Northern Cypriot Church Services Continue Despite BombingMORPHOU, Cyprus (AP).-Police blocked streets and carefully screened visitors arriving Wednesday for a special service at a church damaged by a bomb last week. Hundreds of Greek Cypriot refugees were expected at the Greek Orthodox St. Mamas Church in the Turkish-occupied north of the island to celebrate its namesake’s saint’s day.
Last Friday, a bomb blast before dawn caused extensive damage to the church. That attack followed threats from Turkish and Turkish Cypriot extremist groups they would prevent the staging of the service in the former Greek Cypriot township. Vehicles were blocked from approaching the church, letting passengers out in a parking lot down the road. Turkish Cypriot vehicles were barred even from the parking lot. Visitors passed through a line of metal detectors before making their way to the church. It was the first time in 30 years that the Greek Cypriot refugees had been able to return to the church. The service—the first at the church in decades—was planned as a gesture of reconciliation between ethnic Turks and Greeks. Hundreds of Greek Cypriots who fled Morphou, known as Guzelyurt in Turkish, in the wake of a 1974 Turkish invasion planned to attend the service. The area was calm Wednesday but the mood was cautious in light of the threats. The church, which has been used as a museum for Orthodox icons since the invasion, was empty at the time of Friday’s blast that damaged the main church door, its ceiling and shattered windows of both the church and nearby buildings. No one was injured. Turkish Cypriot police said they believed a fire bomb was thrown to ignite explosives that had been planted earlier outside the building. On Monday, about 500 Turkish Cypriots and Turkish mainland settlers demonstrated against the church service. “Following the bomb attack on the historic church of St. Mamas, the government has been evaluating information and statements by extremist groups in the occupied north threatening to create tension and incidents,” government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said in a statement Tuesday. He said the government had asked the UN Peace Force in Cyprus on Tuesday to guarantee the security of the worshippers. “The government considers that the security of the whole pilgrimage falls within the duties of the Peace Force,” the statement said. There was no immediate response from UNFICYP. Mehmet Ali Talat, leader of the Cypriot Turks, assured Greek Cypriot organizers that his security forces would ensure the safety of the service. But Rauf Denktash, the president of the breakaway state, whose political party is now in opposition, said the church service “is a provocation for the Turkish Cypriots.” Cyprus has been divided
into the Greek Cypriot controlled south and the
occupied north since the 1974 Turkish invasion,
which was sparked by an abortive coup by
supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey
recognizes the breakaway state. |
|
Home • Archives • Search • Submissions • Support Us |
||
|
Orthodox News, PO BOX 6954 |
