Despite problems, difficulties and challenges, the government is doing its utmost in order to end the tragedy of the missing persons in Cyprus, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday evening.
Addressing an event commemorating the heroes of Turkish occupied Famagusta city in 1974, the President referred to institutional changes the head of the office of humanitarian affairs, missing persons and the enclaved Anna Aristotelous has made.
President Christodoulides said that particular weight has been put on the effort to increase the flow of information, by pushing towards enhancing the capability of securing such very useful information.
He added that interrogation methods have been abolished in an conscious effort to unlock the silence and make the most of every possible information.
“Until today, as you are likely aware, 49% of the cases of our missing persons continues to be pending, and their relatives are deprived of their right to the truth as to the fate of their loved ones,” he noted.
He expressed disappointment over the refusal of Turkey to allow access to the Turkish army’s archives where information about the existence of graves exists, something which constitutes an obstacle in the search to find out the fate of many cases.
The President assured that no matter how many years pass the government will never give up the effort to find out the fate of all missing persons, adding that it is the least the state can do for the people who were first in line to defend Democracy and who gave up their lives for the Republic.
On her part, Aristotelous spoke of the people of Famagusta and their bravery.
It is our duty to do our best about the purely humanitarian matter of our missing persons but also, certainly, in relation to the intensive and substantive efforts President Christodoulides is making for the resumption of dialogue and reunification of our country, including the return of Famagusta, she noted.
During the event 87 Famagustans, including the missing and fallen during the 1974 invasion were honoured.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
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 to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.