Photiou speaks of ‘critical period’ for Cyprus’ future

Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs Photis Photiou said on Sunday that Cyprus was going through a “critical period for its future”.

Speaking at the funeral of Spyros Christofides, who was killed during the 1974 Turkish invasion, Photiou called for unity.

“The period we are going through is critical for the future of our country” he said, noting that “we must remain serious and committed to our goal, all together, united and determined to make every effort to end the Turkish occupation and reunify our country”.

For more than four decades, he said, “we have been striving for a peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem, a solution that will terminate the occupation, restore and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots.”

The Commissioner said that the missing persons issue was the most tragic aspect of the Cyprus problem.

“The drama continues because of the occupying power`s refusal to cooperate to the extent that it is necessary to establish their fate,” he noted, assuring the relatives of missing people that the government would continue its efforts until the fate of all the missing persons was established.

So far, out of the 1508 Greek Cypriots missing, 499 individuals have been identified and returned to their families for proper burial. As far as the Turkish Cypriots are concerned, out of 493 listed as missing, 181 persons have been identified and returned to their next of kin.

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.