It will take a minimum of 10 years for the Committee on Missing Persons to complete the task of identifying and returning the remains of missing persons to their families, at the present rate of identifications, Henri Arni, the third member of CMP said here today.
He added that the rate stands currently at 130 per year and noted that “families cannot wait this long”.
Arni also said that if the CMP receives additional funding, beyond the 2.7 mln euros, it will be in a position to immediately increase the scope of excavations and number of identifications.
“With an additional 1 mln euros per year, the CMP could increase its results by more than a third” the CMP’s third member noted.
Anri also said that there are currently 271 burial sites on the excavation list, nine of which, he added, allegedly contain more than 20 remains each. He also noted that the CMP has 200 sets of human remains stored in its laboratory, waiting for identification.
Anri also said that from the 271 excavation sites, 31 are marked as military zones by Turkey and there is no access. He said that access was secured in 23 areas since 2006, while excavations are expected to start in January in an area in occupied Nicosia.
He noted finally that the CMP will continue cooperation with existing donors and address new ones, such as Arab Gulf countries. A sum of 77 thousand euros has been donated so far to the Committee, in the memory of late Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides.
Theophilos Theophilou, the Greek Cypriot member of the CMP referred from his part to the problems created by the passage of time. “Our mission is a race against time” Theophilou said, noting that the Committee’s priority is to exhume as many missing persons as possible, while witnesses are still alive.
He appealed to all Cypriots who have information about burial sites, either from the 1963-64 intercommunal fighting or the 1974 events, to share it with the CMP, assuring for strict confidentiality.
Turkish Cypriot member of the CMP Gulden Plumer Kucuk said that 2013 was a record year for identifications, with 131 cases, of which 88 Greek Cypriots and 43 Turkish Cypriots. “Twice as many missing persons were identified than the average yearly number of the past six years” Kucuk said.
The total number of persons identified since 2007 stands at 469.
Moreover, Kucuk added that 64 persons were exhumed in 2013, while so far the remains of 1,012 persons were recovered, and 469 of them were identified.
She also said results were “encouraging but not enough” and noted that the continuation of the success of the project depends on political will and information flow from both communities.
Asked at what point the project is considered finalized, Kucuk responded until CMP receives no further information about possible burial places regarding any of the 2,001 cases of missing persons it is after.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.
The CMP has been 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.