"Open the road, bury the dead and the living, put asphalt and now the land is ours." The above report belongs to the Turkish invader commander of Kyrenia and was made in 1974, revealing the responsibilities of Turkey in the matter of the missing.
The counter-espionage officer of the Greek Army, Alexandros Simioforidis, submitted it to the committee for the case of the betrayal of Cyprus and it was transferred yesterday before the Parliamentary Committee for Refugees by the deputy Zacharias Koulias. The reference was made on the occasion of the discussion of the "day of the missing" and, as Mr. Koulias said, the above policy of Turkey has not changed.
The chairman of the Committee of Relatives of Greek Cypriot Missing Persons of the period 1963-1964, Haris Symeonidis, also made a report on the attitude of the Turks towards the missing, who stated characteristically:
"I do not expect anything from Turkey on the issue of missing persons. Years ago I was on the opposite side with a Turkish Cypriot colleague, a high-ranking figure in the system, and, wanting to reciprocate some of the kindness he did me about my missing brother, I told him: I have information about a Turkish captain who, along with his driver, between the first and second invasion, they were disoriented and found on our lines. He was arrested and killed and I know where he was buried. If you want me to show you where it is. He told me: “Forget it, Turkey does not recognize missing persons, either Greek Cypriots or Turkish Cypriots. If I go and tell them, they will say, 'Do you not know our views?' "
He also mentioned the following case, which was also reported to him by a Turkish Cypriot: "The Turkish army has not yet allowed an excavation." "This confirms what was reported by the representative of the Greek Cypriot side to the CMP about the existence of problems," said Mr. Symeonidis.
Referring to the time he spends unexploited and the data that are formed on the ground, he said that in 2011 the remains of his missing brother were found along with 15 other remains. In 2013, they called him across the street to show him where they had been found, namely a field in the Hamid Madras. As he said, at the specific point, works for the construction of a six-lane road have started. He said excavations were carried out at a depth of about four meters and today vehicles are circulating at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour and I wonder who will damage the road if there are other missing people below, he said.
The chairman of the Commission, Skevi Koukouma, introducing the issue, stated that the session is taking place due to the fact that the last Greek Cypriot prisoners returned on October 28, 1974, and from the next day (October 29, 201) the drama of the missing began and this day is celebrated every year.
"We are concerned," he said, "that the results of the fate of the missing are heartbreaking. It is time for the strategic plan for the missing to work. " As he said, so far 695 of the approximately 1.500 Greek Cypriot missing persons and about 265 of the approximately 500 Turkish Cypriot missing persons have been identified.
200 VACUUM EXCAVATIONS
The Greek Cypriot representative in the CMP, Leonidas Pantelidis, stated that in 200 cases of excavations, for which there was seemingly good information about the existence of the remains of missing persons, nothing was found. As he said, to date, bones corresponding to 1.000 remains have been found, but not all have been identified. This year, bones were found that are believed to belong to 24 people and their identification is pending. Some bones were found almost superficially in the plowing of the earth, while in other cases at a greater depth. In 2019, 61 excavations were carried out. Excavation is pending in 55 military areas and approval has been given for 30 potential areas. The CMP should obtain permission for witnesses to visit these areas in order to indicate burial sites. As he explained, first approval is given and then a new permit is required. He cited as an example the kitchens of ELDYK, for which a visit date was given in three different cases, but in all three the visit was not allowed.
He also said that permission was requested to visit the closed area of Famagusta from June and finally approval was given last week, when a visit took place.
He also said that there are difficulties, but our side is intensifying its efforts by conducting its own separate investigations into the occupied territories, based on its own sources. At the same time, he explained that other cases are being excavated where excavations have already been carried out and no missing persons have been found. Maybe the excavation was not done at the right depth or was limited in width, he said.
Finally, he stated that, when projects are being carried out, consent was obtained for their monitoring, for possible identification of relics.
The killer shouts
The Speaker of the Parliament, Dimitris Syllouris, also attended the session for a few minutes, noting that there is an increased propaganda practice on the part of Turkey, instead of speaking about the cold-blooded killings that took place during the invasion. "There are many Cypriot proverbs with which we could answer her, but let us limit ourselves by paraphrasing 'the thief shouts instead of the householder', in the proverb 'the murderer shouts instead of the victim,'" he said.
And the remains of the fallen
Presidential Commissioner Fotis Fotiou said that the day is a day of sorrow and a day of debt. He also observed that parents leave without even being able to perform their children's funerals. He also said that Turkey has data on mass graves and bone movements. He also said that only 14 remains were found last year, which may include the remains of the fallen. Finally, he mentioned that information material was prepared which can be used by the Parliament during delegations or contacts of MPs with foreign agents.
They change them for Dikomo
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fotiou stated that there is no one constantly on the construction sites, but the monitoring mechanism was agreed. He also said that now that the walls of Famagusta will be dug on the other side, the approval of the Greek Cypriot side is needed.
He also referred to the garbage dump of Dikomos, where the Turks had invoked testimonies according to which about 70 Assians were buried and now they have changed troparion citing new information, which seems to overturn the previous ones. € 12m will be spent and no excavations should be carried out which will not result in the discovery of remains, he said.
Source: philenews