The few cartoonists that remain in Cyprus are being tried by one challenge after the other and “it is our duty” to stop this course, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday evening, at an event to honour those who sketched history from 1974 to date.

Addressing an exhibition of cartoons and sketches titled “50 years of occupation, 1974-2024”, hosted at the University of Cyprus, Christodoulides said cartoons were once an integral part of newspapers, however their course follows the “downward trend unfortunately recorded by the printed press, as a result of digital media and in many cases anonymous digital accounts.”

“This saddens me personally because criticism, even the most intense and strict, is always welcome and necessary, as long as it is well-meant and of course does not cross the line set by journalistic and political ethics,” he said.

The exhibition hosts about 200 cartoons and sketches printed in Cyprus and Greece during the 1974 coup and Turkish invasion, as well as works produced specially for the occasion and refer to the consequences of 1974.

More than 50 artists are featured in the exhibition with works serving as “historic documents and cultural elements, recording the conditions prevailing during that time,” the president said.

Christodoulides took the opportunity to reaffirm his dedication to a solution of the Cyprus problem.

“This is not just a rhetorical mention, but my deep, intense conviction and top priority. The prospect of our country and our children secured in a liberated and unified Cyprus, with the Cyprus problem solved,” he said.