It was reported that the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC) rejected the request of the Cyprus Foundations Administration (EVKAF) to collectively visit some mosques in Southern Cyprus.
EVKAF General Manager Prof. Dr. In his statement to the AA correspondent, Mustafa Tümer stated that they conveyed their wish to collectively visit 3 mosques in various cities of the Greek Cypriot Administration on religious days to the United Nations Peace Force (UNFICYP) Mission through the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tümer said that their request to visit the Cami-i Kebir (Great Mosque) in Paphos and the Köprülü Hacı İbrahim Ağa Mosque in Limassol was not accepted.
Reminding that the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus allowed mass visits from TRNC to these mosques with the program organized by EVKAF until the last 3 years, Tümer emphasized that they could not understand the rejection of 2 visit requests in the last program.
Tümer stated that the Greek Cypriot administration allowed a mass visit to the Hala Sultan Tomb in Larnaca on Mawlid Kandili and said, "We, as the TRNC, allow over 100 rituals a year for those coming from the South. However, the institutions in Southern Cyprus allow us to visit the Hala Sultan Tomb 3 times a year." he said.
Tümer stated that they conveyed to the UNBG that the three annual rights given to those who will go from TRNC are not enough to visit mutual religious places collectively, and said that there are many mosques and works of Turkish history in Southern Cyprus and that they want to visit them collectively.
Tümer stated that they added Cami-i Kebir (Great Mosque) and Köprülü Hacı İbrahim Ağa Mosque to their visit program this year and said, "The Greek administration did not allow our group visit to these two mosques." he said.