The issue of missing persons of the 1974 Turkish invasion was discussed in a meeting held in Athens with the participation of officials from competent Ministries and other Services of Greece and Cyprus. It was decided that a number of measures and initiatives would be undertaken aiming to change Turkey’s stance on the issue and finally resolve the issue of the missing persons and establish their fate.
The meeting was attended by the Greek Deputy Minister of National Defence Nikos Chardalias, the Presidential Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus Photis Photiou, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Konstantinos Floros, the Ambassador of Cyprus to Greece Kyriakos Kenevezos, representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Greece and Cyprus, the President of the Panhellenic Committee of Parents and Relatives of POWs and Missing Persons of the Cyprus Tragedy Maria Kalbourtzi and the President of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Undeclared POWs and Missing Persons Nikos Sergides.
During the meeting, all sides noted that the stagnation that prevails on the issue of missing persons affects negatively any progress the relatives could have hoped for.
It was stressed that progress in this issue requires Turkey’s sincere cooperation and respect of its obligations under the European Court of Human Rights decisions. In this context, it was underlined that Turkey must implement the necessary political and humanitarian decisions to resolve the problem.
It was also noted that the aim of Greece’s and Cyprus’ efforts is to clarify, despite all adversities, the fate of all missing persons for the sake of the families affected.
During the meeting, a new series of measures and initiatives were decided both inside and outside Cyprus and Greece, “with the aim of curbing Turkish intransigence by submitting new proposals for rapprochement through the relevant international forums”, the press release says.
“All participants in the meeting stressed that the proper resolution of the problem of the missing persons is a debt and an imperative to our heroes and their families,” the statement concluded.
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 December 31, 2021 out of 2002 missing persons 1,183 were exhumed and 1,023 were identified. Out of 1510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 732 were identified and 778 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 291 were identified and 201 are still missing.
Source: Cyprus News Agency