Around one thousand people, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are still missing according to the Committee of Missing Persons.
Greek Cypriot representative to the committee, Nestoras Nestoros told CNA that the fact that no remains are found for identification makes the work of the anthropological laboratory all the more harder.
The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) was established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning the remains of missing persons to their relatives.
Invited to comment on Monday`s report of Turkish Cypriot newspaper “Havantis” that 888 Cypriots are still missing, Nestoros said the total number of missing persons is 2001 and the reference mentioned in the newspaper article that 1113 have been identified and 888 remain missing is theoretical as there are around 50 cases that concern archaeological remains and other cases which can be identified based on the database.
He said that in the first trimester of 2016, the remains of 13 Greek Cypriots have been identified and another six cases concerned cases of persons in the list of fallen soldiers. According to the information on the CMP website, 112 individuals were identified by the CMP but are not on the official list of missing persons but were buried with those listed as missing.
Asked what is the main problem the excavations are facing in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus, Nestoros said there is no credible information “and that is why we are failing”. He emphasised the “information provided must be precise and there should be more cooperation”. For this reason, he added, the CMP decided to concentrate on research. Asked how and who will go through the UN archives at the Ledra Palace, Nestoros said “this is a matter that will be handled by the UN”.
Nestoros also said that the CMP is expecting the Turkish Army to give permission so that excavations can be carried out in the site that was pointed out for the missing persons of Ashia village.
Asked if the anthropological laboratory`s operation in 2017 will be affected if no remains are located this year, Nestoros said there is a great need to locate a large number of remains for the laboratory to continue operating as normal.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. As a result of the invasion, many Greek Cypriots were listed as missing, most of whom soldiers or reservists, who were captured in the battlefield.
Around 1000 people still missing in Cyprus says G/C representative to CMP
