Christmas cancelled in Northern Cyprus: The Church of England Newspaper, Jan 7, 2010 p 6.

First published in The Church of England Newspaper.

The United States has called upon the Turkish Cypriot authorities to honour the right of freedom of worship for Greek Orthodox residents in the Turkish-controlled northern zone of the island. In a statement released on January 3, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom chastised the Turkish Cypriot authorities for breaking up a Christmas service in the village of Rizokarpaso.

Police entered the Church of St Sinesios and demanded that worship activities cease because the local Turkish Cypriot authorities had not granted the congregation permission for the service. Following the invasion of Cyprus by the Turks in 1974, the Greek population of Rizokarpaso fell from approximately 3,500 to 350.

“It is wrong and a symbol of religious intolerance and repressive policies of the Turkish Cypriot authorities supported by Turkey’s occupation troops to require such a small church community to seek permission to hold Christmas Liturgy,” said US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chairman Leonard Leo.

“Requiring such permission is simply a bureaucratic ploy that violates the universally protected right to freedom of religion and belief. The Greek Orthodox population has declined steadily in the area of Cyprus under the control of the local Turkish Cypriot authorities and Turkey’s occupation troops. The Turkish Cypriot authorities’ suggestion that such a small religious community would require advanced crowd control planning is not credible. We urge the US government to press Turkish Cypriot authorities to remove any hurdles imposed on Greek Orthodox Christians that prevent them from freely practicing their faith,” the USCIRF said on January 3.

The USCIRF is a bipartisan government commission charged with monitoring violations of religious freedom worldwide and making policy recommendations to the president, Congress and the State Department.