Facilitating visits to religious sites remains a longstanding part of UNFICYP’s efforts to build trust between Cyprus’s two communities and help overcome the island’s division.
UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus spokesperson Aleem Siddique said the aim was to reconnect people with places tied to their faith and heritage. His comments followed Tuesday’s visit by 80 Turkish Cypriots to Hala Sultan Tekke in Larnaca.
Visit to Hala Sultan Tekke
Speaking to CNA on Wednesday, Siddique said the 80 Turkish Cypriots travelled to the mosque on two buses.
Both the crossing process and the visit were completed smoothly and without incident, he said.
Asked about similar visits by Greek Cypriots to religious sites in the Turkish-occupied north, Siddique said UNFICYP facilitates religious visits in both directions.
“It is about enabling people to connect with their faith and heritage and helping to overcome the division on the island,” he said.
Building trust between the communities
Siddique said access to religious sites has long formed part of UNFICYP’s confidence-building work.
“That has always been the objective. The reason we facilitate these visits is to help build trust between the communities and overcome the division,” he said.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, UNFICYP Chief Civil Affairs Officer Munehiko Harada described facilitating access to religious sites as a “vital part” of the mission’s work to strengthen trust and intercommunal relations.
“It is about creating space for people from both communities to connect with their heritage and with one another,” Harada said.
“When we coordinate a religious service or help organise a visit, such as today’s visit to Hala Sultan Tekke, we are doing more than facilitating a crossing. We are helping to bridge a divide that has kept the communities apart for decades.”
Ensuring visits take place safely
UNFICYP Deputy Senior Police Adviser Paul Slattery said the role of UN Police was to ensure that religious visits could take place safely.
“From a policing perspective, our role is to ensure that these religious events take place safely and without incident,” he said.
Slattery added that coordination with local police services and the management of procedures at crossing points were essential to the safe conduct of the visits.
Source: CNA
