President Demetris Christofias has welcomed an agreement between the UNDP and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in Bosnia, which will continue the identification process of exhumed remains, believed to belong to missing persons in Cyprus.
Speaking during an event for missing persons in the village of Kornos in Nicosia district, the President announced that soon the first 280 samples of remains, believed to belong to about 70 missing persons, will be delivered to the ICMP.
He also said that as of today, the remains of 330 missing persons have been identified, 66 of whom are Turkish Cypriots and the rest Greek Cypriots.
Following disagreements between the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) and the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING), which has been carrying out DNA tests to identify exhumed remains since 2007, the UNDP has signed an agreement with the Bosnian Commission for DNA testing.
The President of the Republic expressed the hope that, following progress on the matter after the recent impasse, the process of identification will speed up, reiterating the government’s will to support the process.
He stressed that the healing process for the families of missing persons will only end when the remains of the last of those victims are identified, on the basis of international law.
The President expressed regret over the recent problems in the identification process due to the disagreement between the CMP and the CING, noting that establishing the fate of missing persons is a priority for the government.
“We will continue our struggle to ensure that Turkey fulfills its obligations and opens its military archives relating to missing persons”, the President stressed.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in examining the issue of missing persons, has found Turkey responsible of violating fundamental articles of the European Convention on Human Rights relating to the missing.
In its judgment, on 10 May 2001, at the Fourth Inter-state Application of Cyprus v. Turkey (Application no.25781/1994), the Court established that there had been continuing violations by Turkey of Articles 2, 3 and 5 of the Convention concerning the right to life, liberty and security and prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment.
Turkey was found to have failed to conduct an effective investigation into the fate of the Greek Cypriot missing persons who disappeared in life threatening circumstances or were in Turkish custody at the time of their disappearance.
It also held that Turkey’s silence in the face of the real concerns of the relatives of the missing amounted to inhuman treatment.
On 7 June 2005, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted an Interim Resolution calling on Turkey to fulfill its obligations.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. As a result of the invasion, 1619 Greek-Cypriots were listed as missing, most of whom soldiers or reservists, who were captured in the battlefield.
Among them, however, were many civilians, women and children, arrested by the Turkish invasion troops and Turkish-Cypriot paramilitary groups, within the area controlled by the Turkish army after the end of hostilities and far away from the battlefield. Many of those missing were last seen alive in the hands of the Turkish military. A further 41 more cases of Greek Cypriot missing persons have been recently added. These cases concern the period between 1963-1964, when inter-communal fighting broke out but none of them has been identified yet.
The number of Turkish Cypriot missing since 1974 and 1963/64 stands at 503.
In his address, the President also referred to the Cyprus issue, noting that “we must remain clear in our aims, because otherwise, the Greek Cypriot side will find itself trapped in new adventures and face the prospect will be for the division of Cyprus.”
The President said that “we should not abandon the negotiating process under the aegis of the UN or start the talks from a new basis”.
President Christofias reassured that despite the difficulties because of the provocative stance of the Turkish side, “we will continue our struggle, concentrating on the goals we have set”.
He underlined that he is fighting for a solution to the Cyprus problem that will be based on principles, will be just and viable and will respect the human rights of our people.
The President of the Republic also said that “we commemorate all those who gave their lives the summer of 1974 and fought against the occupation troops, noting that Cyprus was a victim of betrayal.”
He also noted that “our duty is to struggle of the reunification of our country for the generations to come.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. A new round of UN-backed talks have began in 2008 with the aim to reunify the island under a federal roof.
