Agios thomas: Determining the fate of all missing persons remains a top priority for the government, Education, Sport and Youth Minister Athena Michaelidou said on Sunday at a memorial service for the heroes of Eptakomi in Agios Thomas. Representing President Nikos Christodoulides, Michaelidou said efforts would intensify despite the passage of time and the Turkish side's refusal to cooperate. Cyprus would continue calling on the international community and the EU to exert meaningful pressure on the occupying power to bring this humanitarian tragedy to an end, she added.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Michaelidou stated, 'We demand answers backed by evidence in every single case - the least we owe their families,' emphasizing that legal and diplomatic efforts have led to the exhumation and identification of some of the 1,619 people reported missing in Cyprus. On the Cyprus problem, Michaelidou reaffirmed the Greek Cypriot side's readiness to resume negotiations without delay, provided the groundwork had been properly laid, with the aim of reaching a comprehensive settlement. 'Our highest and non-negotiable priority remains finding a solution within the agreed framework,' she said.
Referring to Eptakomi's history, she said the community was on the front line during the Turkish invasion and was occupied on August 15, 1974. Many residents remained enclaved until their forcible expulsion in 1976. Michaelidou paid tribute to members of the community who were killed in battle, murdered or executed and named four residents who remain missing: Loukas Kyriakou, Antonis Koni, Giannos Lambrou and Andreas Constantinou.
She also honoured seven residents who saved Eptakomi's Holy Gospel, describing it as 'a living bastion of our Orthodox faith and national identity.' The names engraved on the monument, she said, would serve as a lasting reminder of the heroes' sacrifice. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.
A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974. According to statistical data published on the CMP website by June 30, 2026 out of 2002 missing persons 1,719 were exhumed and 1,075 were identified. Out of 1,510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 764 were identified and 746 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 311 were identified and 181 are still missing.