Latins of Cyprus_EN

5 Foreword According to the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, the Armenians, the Latins and the Maronites of Cyprus are recognized as “religious groups”. In a 1960 referendum, the three religious groups were asked to choose to belong to either the Greek Cypriot or the Turkish Cypriot community. They opted to belong to the Greek Cypriot community. The members of all three groups, therefore, enjoy the same privileges, rights and benefits as the members of the Greek Cypriot community, including voting rights, eligibility for public office and election to official government and state positions, at all levels. Moreover, the Armenians, Latins and Maronites, who vote in the Parliamentary Εlections as part of the Greek Cypriot community, elect also one Representative each from their ranks to the Cyprus House of Representatives. These non-voting Representatives attend meetings, but do not participate in the House deliberations. Nevertheless, they are consulted on legislative issues of particular interest to their respective group. The series of publications “Cyprus Religious Groups” is intended as a basic overview, an introductory profile on the Armenians, the Latins and the Maronites of Cyprus. These short publications are by no means exhaustive on the subject and do not deal with differences of opinion and interpretation that may exist among scholars and other experts, on issues related to the three groups. This publication series, initiated by the Press and Information Office, has been undertaken with the close cooperation of the Representatives of the three religious groups in the House of Representatives, and their significant contribution is deeply appreciated. They kindly undertook the preparation of the text and also provided the photographic material. They, therefore, deserve the credit and are also responsible for the content. The Press and Information Office undertook the overall coordination and production of the publications, including editing, designing and printing. It is our hope that this series will stimulate more public and scholarly interest about the Armenian, the Latin and the Maronite religious groups of Cyprus. Director Press and Information Office