Cyprus renews call to preserve memory of 1974 fallen and missing

Kornos, Cyprus. Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides said Cyprus “retains an obligation” to preserve the memory of those killed or reported missing in 1974. He said respect for them required preserving historical truth and rejecting the occupation as a permanent situation.

Memorial service

Speaking on Sunday at the annual memorial service for the 251st Infantry Battalion, held at Saint John’s church in Kornos, Charalambides said the Republic remained committed to a “functional and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem”.

He said determining the fate of every missing person and continuing efforts towards “the liberation of the homeland” remained of paramount importance.

Missing persons cases

His remarks came days after Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartsiotis said that 760 of the 1,619 people registered as missing following the 1974 Turkish invasion remain unidentified. A total of 859 cases have been resolved.

Hartsiotis called for access to Turkish army archives, saying information held in Turkey could help identify burial sites linked to cases that have remained open for more than five decades.

Laboratory and excavations

Hartsiotis said the Cabinet had approved a building for a permanent state anthropological laboratory. Work is also continuing on an ossuary for the remains of identified and unidentified missing persons and fallen soldiers.

A €1 million allocation approved in April is funding specialised genetic testing of remains that had previously been treated with chemicals, complicating identification.

Greek Cypriot representative to the Committee on Missing Persons Leonidas Pantelides said excavations were under way at seven sites: Vatyli, Assia, Lapithos, Exo Metochi, Neo Chorio, Livadia and Yerolakkos.