Cyprus Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou has praised the work carried out by the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP), while admitting there are problems hindering their work.
Photiou said on Monday that the CMP exhumation programme has been running for more than ten years, however the fate of about 1,000 missing persons remains to be clarified.
According to the Commissioner, the CMP focuses its efforts on resolving the humanitarian aspect, pointing out that the Turkish army still denies access to files and documents on missing persons. He also referred to the problem of the transfer of human remains to places other than the burial sites in order for the army to hide the truth about mass executions.
The Commissioner explained that problems remain since the Turkish army refuses to grant permission for exhumations in places that are located within what they call military zones, in the occupied areas. In 2016 excavations were carried out in nine of ten spots where the Turkish army gave permission, however only a few remains were located.
Remains are reduced from year to year according to Photiou, and if Turkey shows the appropriate will and changes its stance towards the issue, then Cyprus will be able to reach a solution to the humanitarian problem that affects a lot of families.
To date, from an official list of 2001 missing persons, the CMP has identified and returned the remains of more than 700 individuals to their families.
Source: CNA
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