Presidential Statement on the humanitarian issue of missing persons in Cyprus
The Turkish Cypriot Side is fully implementing its obligations, duties and responsibilities with regards to the humanitarian issue of finding the remains of missing persons and returning them to Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot families, and we are continuing to provide all necessary support to the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP).
We would like to underline that our authorities are fully engaged and cooperating to ensure that the CMP has access to all possible burial sites. As a result of this cooperation, CMP teams were able to carry out excavations in 1,184 areas across the TRNC, 1,105 of which were in civilian areas and 79 in military areas, within the scope of the mandate carried out in accordance with CMP’s program that was introduced in 2006. The number of excavations carried out by the CMP in South Cyprus is limited to 271 civilian and two military areas, totalling 273 places. Excavations are carried out according to the work program prepared by the CMP. The Turkish Cypriot Side continues to provide financial support to the CMP.
To date, the CMP has identified and handed to their families over 291 Turkish Cypriot missing persons, as well as 733 Greek Cypriot missing persons. After the CMP identifies the missing persons, the case files of the relevant persons are forwarded to the Missing Persons Unit, which operates under our General Directorate of Police, and this Unit initiates an investigation. The investigation file prepared by the Unit is then reviewed by the Office of the Attorney-General and a case file is prepared for each missing person's family regarding the completed investigations. Of the 711 case files submitted by the CMP to date, 485 were investigated by the Missing Persons Unit and forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General, while the Attorney-General completed its investigation regarding 374 files.
The judgements on missing persons concerning our country were also discussed at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which has the responsibility to supervise execution of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, held in Strasbourg on 8-10 March, 2022. In the decision taken at the meeting our contribution to the CMP was acknowledged and the progress in the investigations carried out by the Missing Persons Unit was also noted. We will continue to contribute to the humanitarian issue of missing persons in good faith, in full concert with our relevant authorities.
The Greek Cypriot Side, on the other hand, continued to use this sensitive humanitarian issue as propaganda material in the memorandum it distributed before the meeting in Strasbourg, which was later reflected in the Greek Cypriot press. It has become apparent that, with the intervention made during the meeting, the Greek Cypriot Side has attempted to cast a shadow over the activities carried out by the CMP. The baseless claims of the Greek Cypriot Side will not affect our determination to give access to suspected burial sites and to the sharing of relevant information in order for the CMP to continue to work effectively.
In addition, the Greek Cypriot Side is continuing to make unfounded claims aimed at misleading world public opinion and the families of the missing, that the ‘Turkish side does not open its archives’. However, all information about possible burial sites was shared within the framework of the 1997 agreement. In case the CMP requests specific information, this request is answered by the Archive Committee formed with the participation of all of our relevant authorities. In this framework, the CMP has been granted access to the 1974 aerial photographs in the archives so that it can conduct investigations in 158 different sites.
Our call to the Greek Cypriot Side is to make the necessary contribution to the CMP so that the remains of ‘missing persons’ can be found, and the excavations can be carried out in a timely manner, instead of making groundless claims and spreading false propaganda on such platforms while leaking confidential information of the CMP and the UN.
Our expectation from the CMP, on the other hand, is for this very important humanitarian body to continue to implement its mandate and to reach its objectives in an impartial manner, without succumbing to the political pressures of the Greek Cypriot side.
In this context, it is essential that the excavations be carried out without delay in any place known to be a burial site. It is also worth remembering that approaching the issue of missing persons on the basis of statistical data is incompatible with the humanitarian mandate and impartiality of the CMP.
To date, the CMP has identified and handed to their families over 291 Turkish Cypriot missing persons, as well as 733 Greek Cypriot missing persons. After the CMP identifies the missing persons, the case files of the relevant persons are forwarded to the Missing Persons Unit, which operates under our General Directorate of Police, and this Unit initiates an investigation. The investigation file prepared by the Unit is then reviewed by the Office of the Attorney-General and a case file is prepared for each missing person's family regarding the completed investigations. Of the 711 case files submitted by the CMP to date, 485 were investigated by the Missing Persons Unit and forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General, while the Attorney-General completed its investigation regarding 374 files.
The judgements on missing persons concerning our country were also discussed at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which has the responsibility to supervise execution of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, held in Strasbourg on 8-10 March, 2022. In the decision taken at the meeting our contribution to the CMP was acknowledged and the progress in the investigations carried out by the Missing Persons Unit was also noted. We will continue to contribute to the humanitarian issue of missing persons in good faith, in full concert with our relevant authorities.
The Greek Cypriot Side, on the other hand, continued to use this sensitive humanitarian issue as propaganda material in the memorandum it distributed before the meeting in Strasbourg, which was later reflected in the Greek Cypriot press. It has become apparent that, with the intervention made during the meeting, the Greek Cypriot Side has attempted to cast a shadow over the activities carried out by the CMP. The baseless claims of the Greek Cypriot Side will not affect our determination to give access to suspected burial sites and to the sharing of relevant information in order for the CMP to continue to work effectively.
In addition, the Greek Cypriot Side is continuing to make unfounded claims aimed at misleading world public opinion and the families of the missing, that the ‘Turkish side does not open its archives’. However, all information about possible burial sites was shared within the framework of the 1997 agreement. In case the CMP requests specific information, this request is answered by the Archive Committee formed with the participation of all of our relevant authorities. In this framework, the CMP has been granted access to the 1974 aerial photographs in the archives so that it can conduct investigations in 158 different sites.
Our call to the Greek Cypriot Side is to make the necessary contribution to the CMP so that the remains of ‘missing persons’ can be found, and the excavations can be carried out in a timely manner, instead of making groundless claims and spreading false propaganda on such platforms while leaking confidential information of the CMP and the UN.
Our expectation from the CMP, on the other hand, is for this very important humanitarian body to continue to implement its mandate and to reach its objectives in an impartial manner, without succumbing to the political pressures of the Greek Cypriot side.
In this context, it is essential that the excavations be carried out without delay in any place known to be a burial site. It is also worth remembering that approaching the issue of missing persons on the basis of statistical data is incompatible with the humanitarian mandate and impartiality of the CMP.