70 cemeteries being restored through bicommunal effort

Restoration works are currently underway at 70 cemeteries across Cyprus in an effort to build trust between the two communities, co-chairman of the bicommunal technical committee for cultural heritage Sotos Ktoris said on Monday. In a post on Facebook, Ktoris said cemeteries were “also victims of fanaticism, vandalism and the relentless ravages of time”. “Today we are attempting to reverse this course,” he said. Ktoris explained that with the active involvement of communities, the surrounding walls of cemeteries were being fixed, weeds removed and monuments restored. “This is above all an act of respect towards the memory and dignity of the people of this land, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and contributes towards restoring the identity and historical character of the cemeteries,” Ktoris said. He pointed out that respect for the dead would not solve the Cyprus problem, but it was “an essential precondition to build the climate of trust demanded in order to form together a common future of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence”.