Right to education must be unhindered says minister

Control over the books used at schools in the occupied Karpas peninsula are controlled by the Turkish Cypriot authorities, Education Minister Athena Michaelidou said on Sunday, adding this if affecting “the unhindered right of children to education”.

She was responding to an article on Sunday in Phileleftheros about the conclusions of a report by the European Parliamentary Research Service on the enclaved students in Karpasia, which she described as very important.

The study is reportedly called Enclaved students in Cyprus, and is the first time the conditions and daily difficulties of these students, who are Greek Cypriot residents of certain villages in the north, were the subject of an investigation by a European Parliament service and, in general, a European institution.

Based on the conclusions of the investigation, an on-site European Parliament delegation will be requested to ascertain first-hand the situation in the occupied school of Rizokarpaso.

The issue has come to light following a request by Cypriot MEP Loukas Fourlas to ascertain any human rights violations in the Rizokarpaso school.

Michaelidou said about two years ago she also visited the European Parliament, where, with MEPs, she presented the whole issue and there we had “saw their concern because this is an aspect of the Cyprus problem, which was invisible for many years”.

Following Fourlas’ initiative, the European Parliament has proceeded with a report that records “the problems of insufficient access to the right to education for these almost 50 children,” she said.

The government, she said, would like to see the European Parliament proceeding with a visit but also place emphasis on this invisible aspect of the Cyprus problem.

She said she hoped such a visit would allow these children “to really have the education they deserve.”