The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Greece, briefed on Monday, the Heads of the Diplomatic Missions of the Council of Europe, based in Athens, on the latest developments on the missing persons issue. The briefing was part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of the island. Welcoming the Heads of the Diplomatic Missions, Ambassador Stavros Avgoustides, said that the pain still remains for the relatives of the missing persons and emphasized their inalienable right to be informed about the fate of their loved ones. The President of the Panhellenic Committee of Parents and Relatives of Undeclared POWs and Missing Persons Maria Kalbourtzi and the President of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Undeclared POWs and Missing Persons Nikos Sergidis also addressed the participants. Former Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus Costas Clerides gave a detailed presentation on the legal aspects of the humanitarian issue of the missing persons and informed the Heads of th e Diplomatic Missions about the continuous efforts of the Republic to determine the fate of each missing person. Maria Leontiou-Georgiou, daughter of a missing person from Cyprus, and Vasiliki Zoi, whose uncle from Greece is still on the long list of missing persons, recounted their personal experiences of the unresolved fate of their relatives, with particular emphasis on the ongoing pain they have been experiencing for 50 years. During the event, a documentary was shown and then poet and Professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Dimitris Chrysochos read two of his poems on the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the issue of the missing persons. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown. A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974. According to statistical data published on the CMP website by December 31, 2023, out of 2002 missing persons 1,228 were exhumed and 1,044 were identified. Out of 1510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 751 were identified and 759 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 293 were identified and 199 are still missing. Source: Cyprus News Agency
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