President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman attended the sixth Bicommunal Peace Festival in Pyla on Saturday 17 October, joining Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot residents for an evening promoting peace and cooperation.

Held at the village’s futsal ground in the Larnaca district, the festival brought the two communities together through music, performances and shared celebrations. The leaders sat at the same table for a meal and watched the evening’s programme.

The event was organised jointly by Pyla’s Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot community leaders and the local office of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, UNFICYP.

Their joint attendance followed an agreement reached during their meeting under UN auspices on Tuesday 13 October. According to the UN, that meeting took place in a positive atmosphere, with both leaders also agreeing to attend forthcoming meetings involving cultural heritage, youth and civil society representatives.

Pyla remains one of Cyprus’ few mixed villages, where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots continue to live alongside one another. The festival provided an opportunity for residents from both communities to come together, with peace, cooperation and reunification central to the occasion.

Source: Pinewsuk.com