The Turkish side has recently circulated a memorandum on missing persons in Cyprus, reiterating its previous call for access to be granted in military sites, located in the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus, as “places where there is credible evidence that there are remains belonging to reported missing persons”.
Turkish claims were first raised last January, prompting Athens and Nicosia to respond separately, noting that the Turkish side is trying to shift responsibility, while failing to implement decisions by the European Court of Human Rights that indicate Turkey as the respondent state.
The new document was circulated by the Secretariat of the Council of Europe, ahead of discussions at the Committee of Ministers that began on Tuesday in Strasbourg, and will go on until March 10, in order to examine implementation of human rights judgments, including the issue of missing persons.
In its document, the Turkish side “invites Greece and the Greek Cypriot side to contribute to the work of the CMP”, that is the Committee of Missing Persons that 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.
Moreover, it notes that it expects that “Greece reviews its law and policy and actually shares the records of its military operations of ELDYK”, the Greek army contingent that was stationed in Cyprus upon independence of the Republic of Cyprus, in 1960.
The representatives of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe will examine the implementation of ECHR judgments, including the final judgement on Cyprus v. Turkey, the case of Varnava and others concerning the fate of Greek Cypriots who disappeared during duirng the 1974 Turkish invasion, and the Xenides-Arestis group of cases, with regards to Turkey`s continuous denial of access to property in the northern part of Cyprus.
The implementation of a 2013 judgment concerning the unlawful detention of asylum seekers by Cyprus will also be examined.
In the days before the Committee of Minister`s session, a series of letters by Cypriot applicants or their legal representatives were circulated, noting that the just satisfaction that has been awarded by the ECHR remains unpaid by Turkey, while Ankara is adopting an “à la carte” approach to human rights.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third.