The Portuguese expert who designed the landscaping works in the former Dikomou concrete field, where the bones of 70 Assyrians are believed to be buried, gave a preliminary report to the CMP in relation to the possibility of excavation and next steps.
The Portuguese along with his team arrived in Cyprus a few weeks ago to conduct an investigation and study in relation to how safe it is to excavate as there are methane pipes at the site and there is a risk of explosion. The expert stays in Cyprus for a week, departs and comes back, but his team remains on the island for investigations.
The concrete site has been landscaped and covered with soil. Pipes with underground tanks have been placed underground to remove the methane.
Leonidas Pantelidis on behalf of the Greek Cypriot side in the CMP told the Cyprus News Agency that the expert's initial study was given and both the refugee committee of the parliament and relatives of the Assyrians have already been informed of its contents.
The issue is reported today by Phileleftheros.
Pantelidis told the Cyprus News Agency that the Portuguese is continuing his study which is expected to be completed in June. "We specifically asked him three questions, whether the excavation can indeed be done in a safe way, how it will be done and to give us a cost estimate because it is a huge project," he said.
According to Mr. Pantelidis, the expert made a first presentation on the first question, "and he believes it can be done in a safe way and gave us an indication of how it will be done."
[/P]"He gave us the answer that as far as the gas is concerned it is not a problem and it can be cleaned up."
"He gave us the answer that as far as the gas is concerned it is not a problem and it can be cleaned up. In general terms the procedure is to remove a whole piece of the so-called dome in the concrete field, but three more reports are expected, this is the first one. The last report will be given at the end of June," he said.
According to the findings and the plan for the next steps, starting from the side, a piece will be removed so that the CMP archaeological team can then have access.
"Our archaeologists will go and dig from where the original site was. There was a dirt road there and above it there is a hill 25 meters high, the part above will be removed and they (the Portuguese's partners) will deliver the original level so that we can dig," he said.
Pantelidis explained that the tons of rubbish that will be removed will have to be repositioned and therefore will have to be stored somewhere in a safe way.
All the methane will be released from the site so that the CMP team can approach it for excavation.
"I must clarify that there is still no decision that this will be done and the relatives know this, because consent from the pseudo-state is needed, the consent we have now is for the study and not for the project. In addition, the money must be found because the Portuguese for example can tell us an amount of 15 million which is our whole budget for the decade, so additional funds must be found", he said. "We will see all this when we get there," he added."
Pantelidis said the Portuguese comes to the island for a week, gives instructions to his colleagues and leaves to come back. The CMP is in constant contact with him online and has access to his partners on the island.
His scientific partners are conducting a study, including whether the ground has given way and whether it has subsided.
The missing Assyrians are believed to have been murdered in Ornithi and then their remains were moved in the `90s to Dikomo at a site where the σκυbalotopos was operating.
According to information available, the remains of about 70 Assyrians appear to have been dumped in 3 pits on the edge of the concrete pit, which is now inactive and has been landscaped and covered with earth. Construction and landscaping work was done on the site twice, trash was picked up and the site was piped to allow the methane to escape. Then it was covered with plastic and soil and the site today is a hill.
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