Greek Foreign ministry condemns desecration of Greek Orthodox cemetery

The Greek Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday the desecration of the Greek Orthodox Cemetery of Agios Eleftherios in Istanbul, calling on the Turkish authorities to take appropriate action against this heinous act.

The ministry said the attack “insults the memory and history of the Greek minority in Turkey. We call on the Turkish authorities to do the right thing against this heinous act.”

The cemetery is located in the Kurtulus district.

The trustees of a Greek Orthodox cemetery in Istanbul have described an attack on it by vandals as an attack “not only on a cemetery, but also on a deep-rooted cultural heritage and religion.”

Staff at Agios Eleftherios Cemetery, which serves the community of Tatavla in the Kurtulus district, on Friday morning found that the barbed wire around the burial ground had been cut, headstones had been damaged, holes had been dug and the site’s guard dogs had been sedated.

They notified police, who recorded the damage and collected evidence.

The community’s board of trustees said the attack “caused great sadness in our community.”

“This attack has been assessed as a move against our religious values. We have complete confidence that the police forces will bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.”

The cemetery was established in 1865.

The vandalism took place on the same day as the divine liturgy at the former Orthodox Christian Sumela Monastery, an event which provoked the ire of Turkish nationalists.

Source: ekathimerini.com