CMP notifies families of relatives’ remains

THE COMMITTEE on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) announced Monday the positive identification of 28 missing persons whose remains have recently been exhumed.

The bodies were identified by bi-communal teams of scientists in two laboratories – the Laboratory of Forensic Genetics of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, and the CMP Anthropological Laboratory.

The exhumations took place on both sides of the Green Line, with identification being made possible through DNA methods.

The remains date from the 1960s, when intercommunal fighting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots broke out in 1963-64, and from the 1974 invasion.

The families of the exhumed persons will be personally notified by CMP members on arrangements concerning the remains, including their eventual return.

UN Special Representative in Cyprus Michael Moller, welcomed Monday’s announcement.
“This is indeed a sensitive and emotional time and I would add my voice to that of the CMP in urging everyone to exercise all due restraint in commenting on these developments and that the privacy of the affected families be respected by all.

“On behalf of the UN system, my sympathy and that of all my colleagues in UNFICYP to the families concerned in this time of grief. We all hope they find relief and solace after so many years of uncertainty about the fate of their relatives.”

In a statement, the CMP expressed hope that “despite the sorrow the families will undoubtedly experience, some peace may eventually be found following so many years of painful uncertainty.”

The CMP called on the local media to “show due restraint and to respect the privacy of the families concerned at this particularly difficult and emotional time.”

Greek Cypriots claim just under 1,500 people remain missing, with Turkish Cypriots claiming up to 500.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.