Our debt to the missing remains unfortunately unfulfilled due to the intransigence of the occupying power, which persistently refuses to cooperate with goodwill and sincerity in the effort to clarify the latest case of a missing person, Commissioner for the Presidency Fotis Fotiou said on Saturday, on the occasion of the decoration of the Christmas Tree for the Missing Persons in the area of the old Nicosia Town Hall.
The decoration of the tree with the photos of the missing persons symbolizes the responsibilities of Turkey and the ongoing drama of the relatives, Fotiou said, adding that many of them have passed away with all the pain and anguish and without any answer to the questions about their loved ones.
He added that the tree also symbolizes the reluctance of the international community to make a meaningful contribution to resolving an entirely humanitarian issue that causes so much pain to the relatives.
"Turkey should finally respond positively to the appeals made to it and to the extent required by the humanitarian nature of the problem. It should allow unrestricted exhumations on our occupied land, provide clear answers on the deliberate and violent removal of the remains of the missing from their original burial sites and allow researchers access to the archives of the occupying army, as it is obliged to do by the international conventions it has signed."
Mr. Fotiou also said that the fact that more than half of the Greek Cypriots and Greeks who were included in the relevant list from the beginning are still missing, while at the same time the places where other compatriots among the fallen were buried are unclear, constitutes an inhuman and unnatural situation that invalidates principles and values of civilized humanity and which cannot continue.
"On the occasion of today's anniversary of the International Human Rights Day, we call on the world's powers, the United Nations, the European Union, to take initiatives and stand with us in our struggle to curb Turkish intransigence and end the tragedy of the missing", Mr. Fotiou, adding that for all those who are still missing, everything possible and necessary will be done to shine the truth for each individual case.
The Mayor of Nicosia, Constantinos Yiorkatzis, said in turn that during these holidays everyone seeks the warmth of family and the embrace of those they love, adding that there are many of our fellow citizens who cannot experience this important feeling and for this reason the fate of the missing must be ascertained in order to end this torturous uncertainty with which they have been living for so many decades.
We do not forget our missing persons, we do not forget that the human rights of the missing persons and their relatives have been blatantly violated for 48 years, said the President of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons Nikos Sergides, stressing that the relatives of the missing will continue their humanitarian struggle until the fate of each missing person is determined.
He added that in this struggle every humanitarian within and outside Cyprus is called upon to stand by and help, adding that on these holy days the prayers of all are for God to soothe the hearts of those who hold the key to the issue, those who have the information, those who know and do not speak, that is, Turkey, so that it can provide the necessary information to the Commission of Inquiry so that this humanitarian problem can finally find a solution and put an end to almost half a century of suffering for these families.
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
