Reports of new mass grave in Lapithos

THE GOVERNMENT is aware of the existence of testimonies referring to a mass grave of Greek Cypriot missing persons in occupied Lapithos, said government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday.

Asked to comment on press reports that a mass grave of hundreds of Greek Cypriots could be found in occupied Lapithos, Stefanou said: “We have also seen the press reports. They are not just reports, there are testimonies as well. The government is working with discretion on the issue of the missing persons as well as on the promotion of the procedure, which is underway, for exhumation and identification of remains.”

According to press reports, the existence of the mass grave was first raised in a testimony made in March, 1977, three years after the Turkish invasion. The same reports say Greek Cypriots were buried by Turkish soldiers in the area, and that requests by the government for exhumations to take place in the region have met with rejection by the regime in the north.

When asked whether President Demetris Christofias would raise the issue with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on Thursday, Stefanou said the two leaders were discussing a number of similar issues apart from the negotiations on the Cyprus problem. He called for care and caution, noting: “There is a lot of pain on behalf of the relatives of the missing”.

Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou yesterday said the issue of missing persons was a humanitarian issue and should proceed as such, regardless of the course of the direct talks.

However, he underlined Turkey’s responsibilities and called on the Turkish army to allow access to its archives to help efforts to establish the fate of missing persons, especially those who were last seen in Turkey.

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