Excavations begin to find first victims of 1974 invasion

Excavations in the north, at Pente Mili in Karavas, are underway to find and exhume the bodies of the first people who died during the 1974 Turkish invasion – an estimated 40 to 70 people.

The House committee on missing persons was informed on Tuesday that the excavations had already begun in Pente Mili and that developments were also expected regarding the remains elsewhere that were drenched in chemicals to prevent discovery.

According to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), excavations have started at one of three sites, after permission was obtained from the Turkish army, as the area is in a military zone.

Humanitarian Affairs commissioner Anna Aristotelous said over 49 per cent of cases of missing persons are still pending and that the state was increasing its contribution to the CMP to speed up the process.

Furthermore, emphasis has been placed on the women and children still missing.

Of the 1,619 missing persons, 118 are women and only 26 of them have been identified. There were 36 children listed as missing, of which 20 have been identified, with the youngest being six months old and the eldest 18 years old.

Aristotelous said a number of identified remains have not been claimed for funerals – six Greek Cypriots and three Greeks.

Referring to the remains that had been drenched in chemicals, she said efforts to identify them had failed at home and abroad. But now there are hopes a new device purchased for large-scale parallel sequencing will produce results.

Aristotelous said efforts to obtain and evaluate information are continuous and reiterated the call to anyone who had any leads to come forward.

CMP representatives Maria Achilleos and Andreas Christou said exhumation crews would be increased from seven to eight with the hiring of six more archaeologists and the purchase of additional equipment.

Excavations are currently ongoing in Geri in the south, and Pente Mili, Templos, Ayia, Marathovouno and Galateia in the north.

The Turkish army gives a total of ten permits per year for excavations within military zones, with restrictions, especially regarding the extension of the excavated area.

Regarding the landfill in Dikomo, in the north, the CMP representatives said permits have been pending for a year to prepare the ground for excavations at the level of the road which existed in 1974.

On behalf of the relatives of those who went missing in 1963 and 1964, Charis Symeonides referred to “empty words” and limited financial contributions on behalf of the state.

Yiannakis Kolios of the families of undeclared prisoners and missing persons agreed that the relatives have been hearing “empty words”.

“At the moment we have 780 Greek Cypriot missing. If we find six per year, you can imagine how long it will take,” Kolios said, adding that not even their grandchildren will be alive to bury them.

Representative of the relatives of missing persons from Assia, Maria Leontiou said there was information leading to a mass grave at the Dikomo landfill and complained of the procedure pending since 2017 and taking too long to move forward.

Chairman of the House committee Nikos Kettiros said the government should increase its contribution to the CMP and that time is of the essence.