The issue of missing persons will not be resolved without Turkey`s effective contribution and cooperation, Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues Fotis Fotiou said on Tuesday, during a meeting in Nicosia with French Ambassador Rene Troccaz.
He assured that the Cypriot government is handling the mater as a humanitarian issue that needs to be resolved without further delay.
According to an official announcement, Fotiou briefed the Ambassador on the existing problems and challenges and expressed hope that Turkey will proceed with substantial and effective measures to help solve this problem, to the benefit of the families of missing persons.
He said in particular that Ankara should immediately enforce a decision by the European Court of Human Rights, asking for information on burial places from the Turkish army, which collected the bodies on the battlefield in the aftermath of the 1974 Turkish invasion.
Fotiou added that access should be given to information contained in the Turkish army archives and made a particular reference to the intentional relocation of remains.
All these actions on behalf of Ankara would create the necessary preconditions for solving this tragic problem of missing persons in Cyprus, the Presidential Commissioner noted, while extending his gratitude towards the French government for its support.
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.