Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou held a meeting on Thursday with newly appointed Italian Ambassador Federica Ferrari Bravo with whom he discussed about the humanitarian issue of the missing persons in Cyprus as well as ways to cooperate in issues concerning the diaspora.
During the meeting, Photiou informed the new Italian Ambassador about the tragic aspect of the issue of missing persons in Cyprus. The Commissioner pointed out that it is inhumane and unacceptable that so many families are waiting for almost half a century to receive answers about the fate of their beloved ones.
He pointed out that Turkey, which invaded Cyprus in 1974 and since then occupies 37% of its territory, bears the responsibility for the creation and the perpetuation of the missing persons problem. He added that Ankara should proceed immediately with the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights’ decisions of 2001 and 2014, submitting all data and information kept in the Turkish army records regarding the missing persons and the deliberate relocation of remains.
Photiou stressed that the UN and the EU must urgently undertake initiatives so that there is progress in this humanitarian issue to the benefit of the families of the missing persons. In this regard, he requested the assistance and contribution of the government of Italy as a member state of the European Union.
According to a press release by the Commissioner’s office, they also discussed about a possible cooperation on diaspora issues, noting that this would bring many benefits to both countries.
Source: Cyprus News Agency