President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias has called on the international community to exert its influence so that Turkey is obliged to contribute to efforts to determine the fate of persons, who went missing during the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island, by allowing access to its military archives.
In a written statement to mark Missing Persons` Day, President Christofias points out that the full investigation of the fate of missing persons, means determining the conditions under which they disappeared in 1974.
He adds that the government supports the work of the Committee on Missing Persons and presses to expedite procedures, in order to put an end to this humanitarian issue.
President Christofias also says that the government, in an effort to support the relatives of missing persons and fulfill a duty to their sacrifice and ordeal, has decided to honour all the families of missing persons.
He points out that vindication will only come about through the right solution of the Cyprus problem, which will liberate and reunify the country and its people.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. As a result of the invasion, 1,619 Greek-Cypriots were listed as missing, most of whom soldiers or reservists, who were captured in the battlefield.
Among them, however, were many civilians, women and children, arrested by the Turkish invasion troops and Turkish-Cypriot paramilitary groups, within the area controlled by the Turkish army after the end of hostilities and far away from the battlefield. Many of those missing were last seen alive in the hands of the Turkish military. A further 41 more cases of Greek Cypriot missing persons have been recently added. These cases concern the period between 1963-1964, when inter-communal fighting broke out but none of them has been identified yet.
The number of Turkish Cypriot missing since 1974 and 1963/64 stands at 503.
According the latest figures released in July 2012, the remains of 330 missing individuals – 264 Greek Cypriots and 66 Turkish Cypriots – have been returned to their families for proper burial.