Nicosia: A significant development emerged as Leonidas Pantelides, a Greek Cypriot member of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), reported to the House Committee on Refugees that 1,100 missing persons have been identified from the official bi-communal list. Additionally, 250 fallen individuals have been identified, with recent discoveries of two missing persons each in the areas of occupied Kyra Morphou, Lapithos, and Lefkoniko.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Pantelides informed the committee that 129 excavations were conducted last year, with eight teams currently active, seven of which are operating in Turkish-occupied territories. This effort is part of ongoing attempts to address the longstanding issue of missing persons in Cyprus, a situation that dates back to the conflicts of the mid-20th century.
Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartsiotis further elaborated on the efforts, stating that out of 1,619 Greek Cypriot missing persons, 859 have been identified, leaving 760 identifications pending. The CMP successfully identified 803 individuals, while the Republic of Cyprus identified 56. From 77 Greek missing persons, 40 have been identified, and of the 40 missing persons from 1963-64, 18 have been identified.
Hartsiotis emphasized the need to intensify efforts to determine the fate of missing persons, although he acknowledged the challenge posed by dwindling information as key informants pass away. He noted that efforts from the other side seem to limit the dissemination of information. Despite this, the fifth phase of examining skeletal samples has been delivered, with new identifications anticipated.
Plans for a permanent anthropological laboratory in the Republic of Cyprus are progressing. The Council of Ministers is expected to approve the facility's location in upcoming meetings. Additionally, a decision has been made to establish a permanent ossuary for identified and unidentified fallen individuals.
Moreover, Hartsiotis highlighted that 1 million euros have been secured for conducting specialized genetic examinations on contaminated remains of 32 individuals by the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics. These remains primarily belong to members of the Hellenic Force in Cyprus (ELDYK), and the identification process has already commenced.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 following the Turkish invasion, which resulted in the occupation of 37% of its territory. The fate of many individuals remains unresolved. The CMP was established to address these issues, focusing on exhuming, identifying, and returning remains to families of the 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots who went missing during the inter-communal conflicts of 1963-1964 and the events of 1974.
Statistical data from the CMP website, as of May 31, reveal that out of 2,002 missing persons, 1,717 were exhumed, and 1,069 were identified. Among the Greek Cypriot missing, 764 were identified, with 746 still missing. For the Turkish Cypriot missing, 305 were identified, leaving 187 still unaccounted for.