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First of all, I would like to welcome and thank His Excellency the President of the Republic Mr. Nikos Christodoulides for honouring us with his presence and for placing this event under his auspices, as well as for his practical support in the work of identifying and determining the fate of each of our missing persons and their families. It is with very special and mixed feelings that we are here today to inaugurate the Park of the Missing Children of the Turkish invasion of 1974. Cyprus' first park built for its missing children. For the children who have not grown up for half a century. These minor victims of the 1974 Turkish invasion who will always remain children. They will remain children both in the memories of their relatives and in our own thoughts. In the kitchens of the state and on the pages of Cypriot history.
Kyriakou Andreas, Kyriakou Maria, Kyriakou Kika, Kyriakou Andreas, Kyriakou Andreas, Loizou Christakis, Eleftherios Christakis, Englezou George, Themistocleous Sulla, Andreou Christakis, Anastasiou Kulla, Englezou Christakis, Kozakos Giannakis, Yakuma Marios, Yagou Kostas, Malliapi Christakis, Aglantziotis Panagiotis, Andreou Tasos, Karafili Loizos, Lambi Michalakis, Zenona Zenon, Aresti Panagiotis, Petta Iakovis, Zachariadis Andreas, Englezou Antonakis, Nikolaidis Michalis, Theodoulou Theodoulos, Karamani Andreas, Constantinos Tsangaridis, Christakis Skalias Christakis, Loizou Loizos, Andreas Germanos, Andreas Germanos, Miltiades Ellinas, Andreas Butcher, Andreas Kasapis, Constantinos Neophytou, Constantinos Christodoulou, Christakis Christodoulou, Panagiotis Loizou.
These 36 innocent victims of the Turkish atrocity constitute a unique aspect of the Cypriot tragedy, perhaps the most tragic figure in the history of Cyprus, a shocking, unseen aspect of the Cypriot drama. They are the most innocent eyes that saw the fear, pain, suffering and devastation wrought by Attila the Hun in Cyprus in 1974. This is the image we have of our 36 children, the children of the Turkish invasion, whose names have been on our lists of the missing for decades. This is the purpose of the creation of the "Park of Missing Children of the Turkish Invasion 1974". A park that honours, but at the same time hurts and reminds us of the wound that remains open for almost half a century.
A park whose creation was made possible by the decision of the President of the Republic and in our cooperation with the Strovolos Municipality and the Mayor Andreas Papacharalambous, who promoted the concession of the site, and I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks for his immediate response, but also for the support of the entire Municipal Council. We also express our thanks to the "I embrace with Love" Association.
The naming of the Park is part of our actions on the basis of the Governance Programme to highlight the unseen aspects of the Cypriot drama of the Turkish invasion of 1974, to highlight the human drama and the violation of human rights as protected by international conventions. The drama of these children adds a completely different dimension to the issue of human rights, to the innocent victims of war, to the failures of humanity to fulfil its obligations to protect these children and, in particular, to the supreme right to life. It is a shocking aspect that has been and continues to be experienced by the relatives of the victims, whom we are honoured to have with us today. And we thank them.
Of the 36 missing children of the 1974 Turkish invasion, only 20 have been identified. The youngest was only 6 months old and the oldest was no more than 18 years old. As for the tragic and traumatic events experienced by these children and in particular the circumstances under which their traces were lost are shocking. They experienced physical and psychological violence and were themselves witnesses and victims of brutality. Some of these children were murdered and their remains were found with their mothers and identified, while the fate of others is still unknown.
36 missing children. Among them are siblings, twins, cousins or members of the same family. Victims of the invasion, victims of the war. Stories of children who were separated from their parents by the Turks and whose fate has been unknown ever since, children whose entire family was wiped out. Children who were forced to become men and took the hard road, who, having no other choice, chose to break the Turkish forces to escape from their villages and have been missing ever since.
And these children are not just a number. They are real stories. Stories that are shocking, tragic, that may not be known to the general public, but they hide the same, perhaps even more pain than any we know from the tragic events of the summer of 1974.
They are our children who will always remain children and it is our duty to keep their memory unquenched. And that is the purpose of naming this park the "Park of Missing Children of the Turkish Invasion of 1974".
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Missing and Trapped Persons Humanitarian Service stands by the side of the relatives of our missing persons, joining with them in this sacred struggle that has one and only one goal, the determination of the fate of each and every one of our missing persons.
This is where we focus our actions, as set out in the President's Programme of Government, and a key strategic objective of our Service is to strengthen our efforts with a more active role and a differentiated approach that has people and their needs at its heart. The aim is to safeguard the human rights of our missing persons and their relatives, providing support and meeting their needs. We want the state - even now - to be present and to stand by them.
Determining the fate of our missing persons is a matter of capital importance for us. That is why we have broadened our efforts and diversified the process of approaching every possible informant. The process of obtaining information is carried out in a friendly approach so that people feel confident and safe to give us information. Every piece of information, even a simple report, is investigated and evaluated. We no longer use police methods of obtaining investigative profiling statements. This change has increased the flow of information, with very positive results, so that in one month we had 6 new identifications.
Mr. President,
Distinguished guests,
Dear friends,
I will close my brief greeting with a wish for all the children of the world, not just our children. No child should experience what these children experienced and no family should be in the shoes of their families. May we never again have to hold such a ceremony to honour children lost so early and so unjustly.
(PM/NYAN/GS)
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