CNA – Cyprus/Limassol 12/3/2016 15:17
The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) expects to get fresh information from Ankara on the location of mass graves in the Turkish-occupied part Cyprus, following a relevant decision, adopted recently by the Council of Europe`s Committee of Ministers.
Commenting on the decision, Nestoras Nestoros, the Greek Cypriot Member of the CMP, said on Saturday that this is another step in resolving this humanitarian issue and expressed hope that Turkey will comply.
He also said that producing results is all what matters and underlined the crucial nature of having successful exhumations on mass graves within the course of this year, for the excavation programme to continue unimpeded.
In statements in the southern coastal city of Limassol, Nestoros also referred to the issue of bodies collected by the Turkish side and noted that there must be a way for Turkey to cooperate and provide these pieces of information.
In their decision, the CoE 47 Minsters` deputies said Turkey needed to provide unhindered access to the CMP to all possible military zones in the Turkish-occupied part of the island, examine their archives containing information burial sites and areas where remains where relocated and transmit them to the CMP.
If Turkey cooperates in these three points, the work of the CMP will be significantly facilitated, Nestoros has noted.
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.
A Committee on Missing Persons 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