A Future Beyond the Impasse? Exploring Post-Conflict Religious Heritage

ABSTRACT

With the alarming rise in intercommunal conflicts worldwide, knowledge regarding post-conflict cultural heritage issues must advance to help formulate effective management systems and policies. Through an Actor-Network Theory-inspired approach, this paper explores the actors’ role in protecting religious heritage sites abandoned by displaced communities. Discourse analysis of relevant literature and empirical data from exhaustive fieldwork documenting and categorising the use-status and preservation state of church sites from Northern Cyprus has revealed multiple networks of human and non-human actors and actants. Through ANT concepts of fact-building and translation, a flat platform has been developed showing the positions and interests of the conflicting parties with a focus on the neglected or underestimated dimensions of heritage protection. This platform allows heritage conservation to be viewed from a broader perspective and, in a sense, helps dilute the conflicting parties’ positions and make their stakes less critical. It also emphasises the importance of compromise solutions, including pragmatically negotiating potential alternative uses and actively integrating the local community with the stakeholder group to protect the heritage of the displaced communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Post-conflict heritage conservation
• reused religious built heritage
• unused religious built heritage
• actor-network theory
• stakeholder involvement
• Cyprus

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. For recent investigations of a diverse range of cultural heritage issues related to and triggered by armed conflicts, see, for instance, Dawson ed., War and the Historic Environment.

2. Johnston and Myer, “Resolving Conflict,” 1.

3. Smith et al., “The Politics of Heritage,” 6.

4. Daly and Chan, “Putting broken pieces back together,” 492.

5. For a compelling discussion on this, see Smith et al., “The Politics of Heritage.”

6. For an extensive set of values associated with religious heritage sites, see Longhi, “Calling ‘Values’ by ‘Name”.

7. di Biase, “Suitable Reuse Rather than Adaptive,” 55; Tamma and Sartori, “Religious Heritage: Sharing and Integrating Values,” 557.

8. Smith, “Consensus building for cultural heritage,” 26.

9. Latour, Reassembling the Social, 71.

10. De Bont and Schleper, “Actor-networks,” 157.

11. Callon, “Actor‐network theory,” 183.

12. Latour, Reassembling the Social.

13. Law, “Actor Network Theory,” 146.

14. De Bont and Schleper, “Actor-networks,” 157.

15. Harrison, Heritage: Critical Approaches, 32; Harrison, “Heritage and Globalisation,” 305–306.

16. Bennett, “Whose Place Is This Anyway?” 163.

17. For the interpretation of these two concepts within the framework of sociology, science and technology, see Latour, We Have Never Been Modern; and, Latour, Science in Action.

18. Arnaboldi and Spiller, “Actor-network theory,” 646.

19. Latour, Science in Action.

20. Arnaboldi and Spiller, “Actor-network theory,” 647.

21. Latour, We Have Never Been Modern, 6.

22. Czarniawska, “Bruno Latour,” 94.

23. Following the Greek Cypriot community’s displacement, Turkish Cypriot refugees from southern Cyprus and immigrants from Turkey (Türkiye) moved into their previous settlements in northern Cyprus. I will refer to these new inhabitants collectively as ‘local community’ in this paper. In each village I held impromptu conversations with 3–4 local community members, which I located in the village coffee house.

24. Heraclides, “The Cyprus Gordian Knot,” 117–18.

25. Ibid., 119.

26. See Cyprus Antiquities Law Cap. 31 in: https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/arith/CAP031.pdf.

27. Tuncay, “The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage,” 161.

28. See pg.7 in the report on Redundant Religious Buildings, adopted by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Committee on culture and education Sub-Committee on the Architectural and Artistic Heritage, 4 April 1989, available in: https://pace.coe.int/en/files/6188.

29. Sabri and Sakallı, “The Living Religious Heritage.”

30. See the RoC Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for the details http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/highcom/highcom_newdelhi.nsf/all/E27E244E590AAC3FC2257A4D0037CD39/$file/Muslim%20places%20of%20worship%20in%20the%20Republic%20of%20Cyprus.pdf?openelement.

31. Chotzakoglou, Religious Monuments in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus, 28. For a photographic survey of churches in northern Cyprus and their ongoing uses, see Religious Heritage on Cyprus website on: https://www.cyreligiousheritage.org.

32. For a Greek Orthodox representative’s note, see: https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/cyprus/area-administered-by-turkish-cypriots/.

33. See section 7, provisional article no 4 of TRNC Antiquities Law 60/1994 (As amended and consolidated by the Amendment Laws No. 13/2001 and 14/2017) regarding the status of immovable properties allocated to Evkaf (Foundations Administration) in: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mahkemeler.net%2Fbirlestirilmis%2F60–1994.doc&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.

34. Tuncay, “The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage,” 162; also see Şevketoğlu, Tuncel, and Şahoğlu, “Protecting the Cultural Heritage of Cyprus.”

35. Tuncay, “The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage,” 171.

36. For an Evkaf official’s comments on this, see Sabri and Sakallı, “The Politics and Ethical Dilemmas,” 1250.

37. Sabri and Sakallı, “The Politics and Ethical Dilemmas.”

38. Constantinou, Demetriou, Hatay, “Conflicts and Uses of Cultural Heritage,” 180.

39. For European Parliament’s text on 5 September 2006 – Strasbourg titled: P6TA(2006)0335 ‘The protection and preservation of the religious heritage in the northern part of Cyprus’ see: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-6-2006–0335_EN.html. In its Written Declaration No 21/2006 of 5 September 2006 (P6_TA(2006)0335) and – on a recommendation from the Committee on Culture and Education – in paragraph 34 of its resolution on the 2007 budget (Ρ6_ΤΑ(2006)0570), the European Parliament called on the Commission to carry out a survey on the condition and estimated cost of restoration of churches situated in the northern Cyprus. See: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/H-6-2007–0344_EN.html?redirect.

40. Tuncay, “The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage,” 163.

41. Ibid., 165.

42. According to a press release on 27 March 2024, 72% of TCCH’s budget comes from the EU. https://www.undp.org/cyprus/press-releases/completion-hamidiye-mosque-lefkara.

43. https://www.undp.org/cyprus/support-cultural-heritage-great-importance.

44. Pg. 17 in ‘Preventive conservation for our shared heritage’ https://www.tcchcyprus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TCCH-Heritage-Brochure_May22.pdf.

45. pp.15–16 in: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/441219-CYPRUS-2022-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf.

46. A post in the website of the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 16 July 2016 states that the requests submitted to the Ministry by the Greek Cypriots through the United Nations Peace Force are evaluated and concluded in line with the following criteria: whether the day on which the service is to be held is a religiously important day such as Easter, Christmas, or the church name day; whether the physical condition of the church is safe for visitors; whether the church in question is currently used for another purpose such as library, cultural centre, youth centre, etc. or is located in a military zone. https://mfa.gov.ct.tr/tr/ibadet-dinsel-ayin-ve-torenler-hk/.

47. Harmanşah, “Appropriating Common Ground?,” 480–81.

48. Tuncay, “The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage,” 171.

49. See, for instance, the expected results of the ‘Conservation of the Church of Archangelos Michael’ in Karpasia, implemented in 2019–20, in: https://www.undp.org/cyprus/projects/conservation-church-archangelos-michael.

50. The names of the villages are kept anonymous due to political sensitivity of the issue.

51. Tuncay, “The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage,” 164.

52. Sabri and Sakallı, “The Living Religious Heritage,” 16.

53. In a press release on 14 December 2020, Evkaf administration announced the following: ‘In the past, restored churches were kept closed. Representatives of the European Union applied to the Evkaf about the churches in the TRNC, which were restored with the support of the European Union, saying, “Restored churches become ruins when not used, so they should be given functions where social/cultural activities are carried out.” Our institution has taken a positive and constructive approach to this situation and has given the churches to the municipalities in their regions for socio-cultural activities.’ https://www.kibrispostasi.com/c35-KIBRIS_HABERLERI/n359501-evkaf-ibadet-yerlerinin-bakimi-ve-onarimi-evkafin-oncelikleri-ar.

54. Conversations with the local community members in the village café on 9 July 2023.

55. Goryunova and Wei, ”Cultural heritage as a pathway,” 9.

56. Incirli, “Lefkara’da köpek yok mu?”

57. Chotzakoglou, Religious Monuments in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus, 50. A Declaration by the European Parliament notes the number as 78 (see note 39 above).

58. Kruse, “The religious heritage of Cyprus.”

59. Constantinou, Demetriou, and Hatay, “Conflicts and Uses of Cultural Heritage,” 181.

60. See for instance Akdoğan’s mukhtar İsmail Kozanoğlu’s statement about the villagers’ wish to have a purpose-build mosque rather than using the ‘old church as a mosque’. ‘Cami istiyorlar. Akdoğan’da köylüler, ibadetleri için kiliseyi kullanıyor’ Melin Dobran, Gundem Kibris, 16.11.2016, https://www.gundemkibris.com/cami-istiyorlar.

61. Conversations with local community members in Akanthou/Tatlısu, Fyllia/Serhatköy, and Kythrea/Değirmenlik.

62. Saifi and Yuceer, “Maintaining the Absent Other”; Yüceer, “The Effects of Conflict.”

63. See, for instance, Chotzakoglou, Religious Monuments in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus, 74–75.

64. Mäkipää, “Once a Church, always a Church?”

65. Stylianou-Lambert, Bounia and Hardy, “Resisting Institutional Power.”

66. Conversation with local community members on 15 July 2023 in Kazaphani/Ozanköy and on 27 July 2023 in Prastio/Aydınköy.

67. Hollis, “No Longer and Not Yet,” 3.

68. Information provided by a civil engineer who has been actively involved in TCCH-UNDP conservation practices on churches since 2012, in an interview conducted on June 22, 2023.

69. Exemplifying this are the evacuated church-mosques in Prastio/Dörtyol, Agios Georgios/Aygün, Yialousa/Yeni Erenköy, Koma tou Gialou/Kumyalı, and Syrianochori/Yayla.

70. Exemplifying this are the evacuated schurch-mosques in Lefkoniko/Geçitkale, Tavros/Pamuklu, Agos Ilias/Yarköy, Melanagra/Adaçay, Eptakomi/Yedikonuk, Neta/Taşlıca, Leoarissa/Ziyamet, and Mousoulita/Kurudere.

71. ‘131 senelik kilise, güvercinlere yuva oldu! ‘[131-year-old church turned into pigeons’ nest] 21 Temmuz 2019, Devrim Demir, Yenidüzen. https://www.yeniduzen.com/131-senelik-kilise-guvercinlere-yuva-oldu-117088h.htm. ‘Akdoğan’daki kilise yeniden hayat bulacak’ [The church in Akdoğan will come to life again], Voice Kıbrıs Haber, Ağustos 1, 2019 by Hatice Kerlo https://voicekibrishaber.com/akdogandaki-kilise-yeniden-hayat-bulacak/173091/.

72. For the comments and photos showing the dilapidated condition of the church site see: Nadire Bahadi, (26 January 2020) ‘Aygün’de sorunlar diz boyu!’ [Problems are rampant in Aygün], Kıbrıs Postası, https://www.kibrispostasi.com/c88-GAZIMAGUSA/n309804-aygunde-sorunlar-diz-boyu.

73. For instance the evacuate church-mosque in Peristeronapigi/Alanici has been repurposed as women handicrafts centre, and the one in Skylloura/Yılmazköy for religious education. Evkaf itself repurposed the evacuated church-mosque in PanoZodia/Yukarı Bostancıas as a charity centre.

74. See the Philnews on 7 October 2023 in https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/local/a-wrestling-ring-was-set-up-in-the-church-of-agia-anna-in-kythrea-photos/.

75. Bennett, “Whose Place Is This Anyway?,” 163.

76. Arnaboldi and Spiller, “Actor-network theory,” 653.

77. Yun, “Erecting monuments and making meanings,” 3.

78. De Bont and Schleper, “Actor-networks,” 157.

79. Smith, “Consensus building for cultural heritage,” 31.

80. Ibid.

81. See note 39 above.

82. See Balderstone, “Managing Heritage in the Wake of War,” 28–29. For explorations on the role of identity politics in Cypriot communities’ cultural heritage strategies see Pasamitros, ‘Contested Heritage Perspectives’; and Sabri, ‘Greek Nationalism.’

83. For an analysis see Sabri and Sakallı, “The Politics and Ethical Dilemmas,” 1256–1258.

84. Pasamitros “Contested Heritage Perspectives,” 118. Also see Constantinou and Hatay, “Cyprus, ethnic conflict and conflicted heritage,” for an analysis on how both conflicting parties instrumentalise cultural heritage to reinforce their positions and legitimise their claims about the Cyprus issue.

85. Pasamitros “Contested Heritage Perspectives,” 118.

86. Chotzakoglou, Religious Monuments in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus. For the Greek authorities’ complaint to UN see, for instance, the ‘Letter dated 11 March 1998 from the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General’ in: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/251781?ln=en&v=pdf.

87. Ledebur, ‘The “Highest and Best” in Adaptive Reuses,’ 168.

88. Council of Europe, “Cathedrals,” article 5.

89. Bruce 2023, “Placemaking in a Postsecular Age,” 104.

90. Ledebur, ‘The “Highest and Best” in Adaptive Reuses,’ 170–171.

91. For further details on this see Sabri and Sakallı, “The Politics and Ethical Dilemmas”; Şevketoğlu, Tuncel, and Şahoğlu, “Protecting the Cultural Heritage of Cyprus”; and Tuncay, “The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage.”

92. See note 33 above.

93. After Constantinou and Hatay (2010), Pasamitros (2024: 118) argues that both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot officials have similar attitudes about celebrating legacies that reinforce their ethno-national imaginaries and allowing them to be exploited or erased when they fail to do so.

94. For further discussion on this, see Arnaboldi and Spiller, “Actor-network theory,” 647.

95. Johnston and Myers, “Resolving Conflict,” 12.

96. Smith, “Consensus building for cultural heritage,” 26.

97. Ibid., 45.

98. Latour, We Have Never Been Modern, 6.