30th November, St Andrew’s Day,  saw 5,000 worshippers attend the Church service at St Andrew’s Monastery, which holds a special significance for all Cypriots but especially those from nearby Rizokarpasso. 

Among the congregation was the President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou.

The service was conducted by Father Zacharia Georgiou and Archimandrite Georgio Christodoulou.  The Bishop of Karpasia was also present but had not been given permission to conduct the Church service by the illegal occupying regime although he was allowed to make a speech at the end of the service.

Unfortunately, in order to hold a Church service in the Turkish occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus permission has to be requested from the illegal occupying regime.

Let us pray and hope for an end to the illegal occupation of our homes and properties and the reunification of our ancestral home, Cyprus,  so that all Cypriots can live together in Peace and Prosperity, free from occupying troops and illegal settlers.

The President of the Rizokarpasso Association, Mary Karaolis, joined other members of the Secretariat of the National Federation of Cypriots in the U.K. to deliver a resolution to the Turkish Ambassador on the anniversary of the illegal ‘UDI’ by the occupation regime on 15 November

The Association of Rizokarpasso in Britain was represented at the Parliamentary reception “Cyprus geostrategic role: prospects and challenges”, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group Chairman, Bambos Charalambous MP, and President of the National Federation of Cypriots UK, Christos Karaolis. After the speeches the President of the Association of Rizokarpasso, Mary Karaolis, took the opportunity to raise the problems in Rizokarpasso with the guest speaker Cyprus Foreign Minister, Dr Constantinos Kombos, the Solicitor General Sarah Sackman MP, the Shadow UK Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel MP and with other UK Parliamentarians present. Of particular concern were the human rights of the enclaved in Rizokarpasso as well as the rights of the owners of properties who are denied access, use and benefit from their properties occupied by thousands of illegal settlers in Rizokarpasso.