The Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) must be granted free and unlimited access to all information regarding missing persons, such as burial sites or sites where remains have been moved, the Committee of Relatives said on Saturday.
This information can be obtained from the archives of the Turkish army, the Committee of Relatives of Missing Persons says in a press release, issued on the occasion of the Missing Persons day on October 29.
The relatives point out that resolving the humanitarian issue of missing persons is one of the most important confidence building measures and should be given priority.
The relatives also underline that the tragedy of missing persons and the ordeal of their loved ones are continuing to face 42 years on, at the refusal of the Turkish army to allow access to information on how these people went missing in areas which were occupied by the Turkish troops during the invasion of the island in 1974.
The Committee of Relatives also says that the European Court of Human Rights as well as other international organisations have issued decisions, which facilitated the re-operation of the CMP in 2004. This, the statement adds, has generated fresh hopes that the issue of the missing persons will be resolved.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.
The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) was established, upon agreement between the leaders of the island’s two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning the remains of missing persons to their relatives.
According to CMP, 1,508 Greek Cypriots and 493 Turkish Cypriots went missing and so far 699 missing persons from both communities have been identified and returned to their families for a dignified burial.
Source: CNA
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