AKEL ON MISSING PERSONS DAY
Statement by Skevi Koukouma, AKEL MP and
President of the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, Enclaved people, Missing Persons and War-stricken people
The 29th October 1974 was the last time captives of the Turkish invasion were set free. This day marked the beginning of the agony and torment for the families of the missing persons. In 2010 the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus approved the proposal of the Pancyprian Organisation of the Relatives of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons, establishing today as the Day of Missing Persons.
Today the Cypriot people as a whole should once again remember that the struggle for the verification of the fate of the missing persons is continuing. It may be that the big questions in relation to the crime committed in 1974 have largely been answered by the Finding of the House of Representatives on the File of Cyprus. It may be that the culprits and the accomplices – external and domestic – are well-known to our people, but the struggle is continuing because it is critically important for us to be able to tell the families of the missing persons under what specific conditions they lost their loved ones. The families and relatives of the missing persons have the inalienable right to be informed about the fate of their own beloved people. It is a right of the relatives and a duty towards the missing persons. At the same time it is also a duty towards our country’s history.
Both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyprus have missing persons. AKEL is fighting for the verification of the fate of each and every Cypriot missing in the turbulent years of our contemporary history, both during the Turkish invasion and the bloodshed committed by the foreign-instigated nationalists of both communities. Every Cypriot has a responsibility towards the truth, history and our homeland to contribute to the efforts to collect information and ensure that the investigations move forward.
The drama of the missing persons however will not be solved if the occupying power, namely Turkey, does not decide to cooperate; if it does not allow investigations and searches to be conducted in all the occupied areas; if Turkey does not finally open up the files and archives of its army and give all the information relating to missing persons, but also every other information on the actions of the Turkish army near areas where remains of missing persons have been found. If Ankara estimates that the passage of time will bring forgetfulness and lead to a lack of memory and that the issue of the missing persons will be forgotten then it has made a wrong calculation. All the political forces of the island have a responsibility to greatly enhance our coordination and boost our efforts so that international pressure will be exerted on Turkey to truthfully and effectively cooperate with the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus.
The support provided to the CMP is of crucial importance. The number of research and scientific personnel, work teams and work places for identification needs to be increased. Any reorganisation of the services regarding our missing persons should be done on meritocratic and strictly scientific criteria. Furthermore, our initiatives to increase financial contributions from third countries for the work of the CMP must be strengthened even more. The joint efforts by the Cypriot MEP´s that brought tangible results are a worthy example.
We know that the colossal work of identifying the remains of missing persons requires willpower, coordination, financial resources, people with a high level of scientific knowledge and expertise and respect for the work they do. In addition, enormous reserves of inner strength are demanded. On the part of AKEL, we congratulate and thank all those working at all the stages of this procedure, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, but also foreign scientists and experts.
It is said that it’s not so important to repeat on the various anniversaries that the only true vindication for the missing persons and the fallen, the war-stricken people and the refugees of 1974 is the solution of the Cyprus problem itself. However, this position is constantly being repeated – by almost everyone – because it is the truth. The real and true vindication will only come with the termination of the crime of 1974, the reversal of the occupation and the division of our island and people; with the liberation, reunification and demilitarisation of our Cyprus.
