WASHINGTON—Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), announced today the U.S. Helsinki Commission will hold a briefing on:
Cyprus’ Religious Cultural Heritage in Peril
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
2:00 PM
Room B318, Rayburn House Office Building
The 35-year-long artificial division of Cyprus has taken a tremendous toll on the lives of the people of that country. Despite clear international commitments on the importance of preserving religious and cultural heritage, hundreds of churches, chapels and monasteries in the northern part of Cyprus remain in peril. Thousands of icons, manuscripts, frescos, and mosaics have been looted from sites in northern Cyprus — many ending up on international auction blocks.
Panelists are to include:
Dr. Charalampos Chotzakoglou, Professor of Byzantine Art and Archaeology, Hellenic Open University and Museum of Kykkos Monastery; author of Religious Monuments in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus: Evidence and Acts of Continuous Destruction.”
Dr. Klaus Gallas, Art Historian and Byzantine expert who has focused on international smuggling of religious and architectural artifacts plundered from northern Cyprus.
Michael Jansen, author of “War and Cultural Heritage: Cyprus after the 1974 Turkish Invasion.”
A report prepared by the Law Library of Congress, “Destruction of Cultural Property in the Northern Part of Cyprus and Violations of International Law” will be released at the briefing.
