CoE Committee resolution does not touch upon the essence of the problem said the Greek Cypriot member to the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) Nestoras Nestoros.
Nestoros said “it would have been better if it had addressed the expectations of the relatives of missing persons,” adding that the problems the CMP faces have been noted down on many occasions, just as proposed solutions have.
The resolution does not reflect this, he pointed out. It does not refer to results in relation to action by Turkey on providing information or relocation of remains, he explained.
“If we do not resolve the important issues at hand, we will not be able to give precise and correct answers to the next of kin of missing persons, which is what we want to do,” he said.
The way the CMP handles the missing persons issue is not political but humanitarian, he noted, adding that others involved, and in particular the Council of Europe, deal with the matter in a political manner.
COE CALLS ON TURKEY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, calls Turkey to pursue their proactive approach to provide the CMP with all necessary assistance to continue to achieve tangible results as quickly as possible.
The resolution which was adopted on Friday the Committee took note with interest of the information provided by the Turkish authorities on the measures adopted to accelerate the access of the CMP to the military zones located in the occupied areas as well as on the setting-up of an archive committee, established by Turkey, in August 2016, with the mandate to examine the relevant archives for the information requested by the CMP on the burial sites and the location of remains;
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe also invited the Turkish authorities to transmit to the Committee information on the conclusion given in the final reports in the investigations finalised so far and insisted once again on the unconditional obligation to pay the just satisfaction awarded by the European Court and reiterated their call upon the Turkish authorities to pay without delay the sums awarded in the judgement of 12 May 2014.
The Committee decided to resume consideration of the issue of missing persons at their 1294th meeting (September 2017) (DH).
TO CONTINUE THE EFFORTS
The CMP, Greek Cypriot member to the CMP Nestoras Nestoros said, will continue doing its job applying new technology and scientific methods to be more effective and productive in establishing the fate of the missing in Cyprus.
“We shall continue our effort to find ways to secure support for our job from countries involved and international organisations, such as the UN,” he added.
According to CMP, 1508 Greek Cypriots and 493 Turkish Cypriots are still missing while, 553 Greek Cypriots and 184 Turkish Cypriots have been identified and returned to their families.
Source: CNA
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