It is a great pleasure to be with you today. First of all, I would like to congratulate the Director Mrs. Eleni Damianidou and your teachers for this initiative and of course I would like to congratulate you for your interest in learning about the humanitarian problem of our missing persons and their families, which we have been struggling for decades to address and solve.
The tragedy of the problem of the missing persons and their families touches and interests each of us. It is an issue related to the brutal Turkish invasion of 1974, whose wounds remain open and continue to torment thousands of our compatriots to this day.
The mere fact that we continue 48 years after the Turkish invasion to bury the remains of our heroes who fell fighting to defend the freedom and territorial integrity of our homeland or were martyred at the hands of Attila's soldiers or Turkish Cypriot extremists, is a fact that in itself speaks volumes.
The remains or part of the remains of our heroes are mostly found in mass graves in the occupied territories, as part of the exhumations carried out by the Commission of Inquiry on Missing Persons, which operates under the auspices of the United Nations. This Commission is a bicommunal mechanism and is composed of one representative of each community, as well as a representative of the United Nations Secretary-General. A key element in the work carried out is first the collection and evaluation of information, then the investigations and exhumations, followed by scientific examinations to identify the remains and then deliver them to their families for burial and entombment in accordance with our religion and social traditions.
Unfortunately, both the terms of reference of the Commission and the results of the exhumations are very limited. I say this not to underestimate the work being done. Far from it. But at the same time we must not overlook the major problems that exist and make the task of investigating each missing person case and finding a definitive solution to this major humanitarian problem more difficult, as was and is our objective. By way of indication, although the ICRC's exhumation programme has been in operation for more than 17 years, the fate of more than 750 of our missing persons, or almost 50% of the cases submitted to the Commission, remains to be clarified. You can understand the pain, suffering and anguish experienced by families who have been waiting for almost half a century to know the fate of their loved one.
On every occasion we stress that the relatives of the missing have the right to know the whole truth about the fate of their loved ones. This is underlined in the 2001 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights which upheld the fourth inter-state application of Cyprus against Turkey, as well as in other judgments of the same court and other international organizations.
According to the 2001 judgment, Turkey failed to conduct an effective investigation into the fate of Greek Cypriot missing persons who disappeared under circumstances that endangered their lives or were in Turkish custody at the time of their disappearance. The Court also held that Turkey's silence in the face of the genuine concerns of the families of the missing persons amounted to inhuman treatment.
It is, I believe, in the face of this strong criticism of the acts and omissions of both the European Court and other international bodies and the struggle of the families of the missing persons themselves that the occupying power consented to the exhumations. Note that the Commission of Inquiry was set up following a UN decision in 1981 and was able to produce results in the year 2007 with the first exhumations and identifications carried out in the period 2005-2006. As I have mentioned above, the Commission's mission is limited. It concentrates its efforts on resolving only the humanitarian aspect of the tragedy of the missing persons. Although with this limited mission the problems are many and their source is the occupying power.
By way of illustration, the occupying army still does not allow access to its archives. There is certainly all the information about our missing persons there and certainly also the information about the very serious case of the deliberate movement of remains from the original burial sites to others that remain unknown to us. Moving remains, of course, to conceal the guilt and the truth about mass executions of our compatriots who were captured and then executed in cold blood. As a result of this barbaric and inhumane policy, too many families of our missing persons are given only a bone or a few bones for burial. We consider this again to be inhumane and unacceptable.
There are other serious reasons for the failure to achieve the desired progress in efforts to resolve the tragedy of the missing persons. They are, for example, the long-standing refusal of the occupying forces to allow unhindered searches for exhumations at sites located within the so-called military zones in the occupied territories, the refusal of the occupying force to indicate the mass graves created by the collections of the dead from the battlefields, as well as others. It is tragic that the remains that are identified are dangerously diminishing year by year with the risk that the CMP program may not be able to continue its operation.
As I have mentioned before, despite our efforts, more than 750 of our compatriots are still missing from the dark days of the 1974 Turkish invasion as well as from the 1963-64 period.
Despite our efforts, more than 750 of our compatriots are still missing from the dark days of the 1974 Turkish invasion as well as from the 1963-64 period. The families of our missing persons experience daily the torment of uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones. The occupying power must not be allowed to continue this cruel and inhumane treatment of families.
Time is inexorable. Most parents have completed the circle of their lives and those who are left, children and spouses, bear the scars and traumas inflicted on them daily by the agony and mockery of the occupier.
It is our belief that if Turkey is willing and cooperative, it is possible to bring the issue of the missing persons to its final and proper resolution.
It is our belief that if Turkey is willing and cooperative, it is possible to bring the issue of the missing persons to its final and proper resolution. We are working in this direction with all our goodwill and will, as well as the determination to finally end the tragedy of the relatives.
For our part, despite Turkey's refusal to cooperate and the obstacles and difficulties it constantly raises, we are not complacent nor will we give in to the methods of the occupying power to close the problem without clarifying the last pending case of our missing person. This for us is a duty and an imperative towards our heroes and their families.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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