NICOSIA – Ahead of the July 20th 50-year anniversary of Turkey’s unlawful invasions of Cyprus that seized the northern third that’s still occupied, the United States Embassy said despite differences that there should be religious tolerance.

American officials met with those from the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Justice to talk about religious freedom for the Greek Orthodox and Muslim sides and ways to reduce discrimination, said the Cyprus News Agency.

That was cited in the U.S. State Department’s 2023 report on religious freedoms in Cyprus which said Church officials complained that access to Orthodox religious sites on the isolated side occupied by Turkish-Cypriots is being limited and some were being turned into stables, mosques or for other purposes.

There was no indication officials in the self-declared republic in the occupied territory paid any attention to the report or call for religious freedom after Turkey had turned the revered ancient Aghia Sophia Church into a mosque.

On the Greek-Cypriot side, visitors are allowed to only access five of the 19 mosques designated as cultural heritage sites, as well as five other mosques not designated such, it was said.

The Antiquities Department also restricts access to the Hala Sultan Mosque, one of 10 functioning mosques, to only two of the five daily prayer times, though extended access was usually granted during Ramadan and at the imam’s request.

The report states that religious minority groups said there was social pressure to participate in public Greek Orthodox religious ceremonies, such as weddings and baptisms and some Orthodox Christians said they were ostracized if they converted to another religion.

The Turkish-speaking Protestant Union said Turkish-Cypriots who converted to other religions often experienced social pressure, verbal abuse, insults, public criticism, and workplace discrimination.