At 3 of the 8 excavations currently underway by the DEA teams, the remains of missing persons were discovered this week, in the area of Agios Georgios Spatharikos, in Kalo Chorio, Kythrea, and in Lapithos. At the first two sites, the remains of one person were found, and at the third site, the remains of two people.
Leonidas Pantelidis, a Greek Cypriot member of the CMP, speaking at a session of the 100-member Advisory Body of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Missing Persons, stated that the eight sites are in Assia, Lapathos, Exo Metochi, Neo Chorio Kythrea, Livadia in Famagusta, Gerolakko, Agios Georgios Spathariko, and a military zone in Karava. Regarding the issue of excavations in military zones, he added that, following pressure from them, the 25-meter restriction has been relaxed, while the issue had also been raised with the UN Secretary-General when he visited Cyprus at the end of last July.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Mr. Pantelides also clarified that in the official list of 2,002 missing persons—both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots—the number of Greek Cypriots is not 1,619, but 126 fewer names, which is why there is sometimes confusion between the number of missing persons whose remains have not yet been located and the number of those who have been identified. He noted that, according to the official list from 2002 to the present, 1,082 have been identified, of whom 765 are Greek Cypriots and 317 are Turkish Cypriots. He continued, saying that 745 Greek Cypriots and 175 Turkish Cypriots.
So far in 2026, 20 individuals have been identified, while there were 12 identifications in 2025. “However, there are still major cases of mass graves that have not been located. We hope that we are getting closer with every effort.” Mr. Pantelidis said that what they are requesting are the 1974 medical records of the Turkish army that carried out the mass burials, not the army’s operational records.
In his own speech, Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartsotiis stated that determining the fate of the missing persons is the State’s highest humanitarian and national obligation. “An obligation that is not subject to a statute of limitations.” The clear policy of the President of the Republic, he added, is to continue and intensify these efforts through initiatives at the local, European, and international levels. “The President systematically raises the issue before the European Union, the United Nations, and foreign leaders, demanding substantive cooperation from Turkey, the removal of obstacles to investigations and exhumations, and access to data and records of the Turkish military.”
In his office, he continued, they have established a three-pronged approach: proper infrastructure, meaningful and continuous updates for relatives, and concrete actions on the ground. He noted that, by decision of the Council of Ministers, a specific building has been approved for the establishment of a permanent Anthropological Laboratory of the Republic of Cyprus, plans are underway to establish an ossuary for the dignified storage of the remains of both identified and unidentified missing persons and war dead, as well as a space for relatives to visit and gather.
He said that the same plan also includes the construction of a small church, along with a suitable space where relatives can visit, gather, and pay their respects to their loved ones with due reverence. At the same time, he continued, preparations are underway to establish an official registry of the children of the missing.
Regarding this matter, Mr. Hartsotis said that he holds regular monthly meetings with the Pan-Cyprian Organization of Relatives of Unidentified Prisoners and Missing Persons and the Pan-Hellenic Committee for the Missing, while the files on the missing persons are made available to their relatives.
They also undertake, he said, initiatives at both the local and European levels regarding specific and particularly difficult aspects of the issue of missing persons, such as the case of the missing persons from Assia, which they seek to further highlight and promote at the European level, with the aim of exerting the necessary pressure to secure substantive answers and progress in the investigation.
It was announced that there will be annual public presentations on the progress of all efforts to determine the fate of the missing persons, and the first presentation will cover the period from January 1 to December 31, 2026.
Mr. Hartsotis also noted that last April, the Council of Ministers approved the allocation of 1 million euros to begin conducting specialized genetic testing on the remains of Greek soldiers killed in action and missing in action in 1974, which had previously been treated with chemicals and could not be identified using conventional methods. The process began in June 2026, and through the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics and the Massively Parallel Sequencing Method, we are now able to utilize scientific capabilities that did not exist in the past.
He added that the fifth phase of testing small skeletal samples from Cypriots and Greeks at the Laka Military Cemetery, with the hope that new identifications will emerge.
“We need information. We need access to records and data. We need meaningful cooperation from Turkey and the occupying power. Any information that is withheld may be the very information that deprives a family of the answer they have been waiting for for 52 years. But the more the difficulties and obstacles grow, the stronger our determination to continue becomes.”
Mr. Hartsotis said that the door to his office is open to any relative who wishes to view the file concerning their missing family member.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, Trapped Persons, Missing Persons, and Victims, Nikos Kettiros, said that determining the fate of even the last missing person is the state’s obligation and everyone’s responsibility, and that there can be no complacency as long as there are families waiting for answers.
As a Parliamentary Committee, he said, they have placed the issue of the missing persons very high on their list of priorities, are closely monitoring the progress of investigations and identifications, and insist on the need to utilize every scientific and technological capability that could lead to new results.
They have highlighted specific issues, he continued, that concern not only the investigation of the fate of the missing persons but also support for their families, such as the creation of a permanent anthropological laboratory to serve the needs of the investigations, the creation of a registry of the children of the missing, as well as the need for meaningful support for the parents and spouses of the fallen and the missing.
“At the same time, we must be clear: the passage of time cannot serve as an excuse for inaction. On the contrary, it makes the need for results even more urgent. The number of people who can provide information is dwindling. First-generation relatives are passing away without having received the answers they have waited their entire lives for. That is why every piece of information, every testimony, every document that can help determine the fate of a missing person must be utilized without further delay.”
Turkey, he noted, has a responsibility to cooperate substantively, to provide the information it possesses, and to allow unimpeded access to evidence and locations that can contribute to investigating the fate of the missing persons.
Mr. Kettiros stated that the Committee’s new membership will soon visit the CMP’s anthropological laboratory. He also noted the need to complete the registry of relatives of missing persons.
The President of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Missing Persons, Nikos Sergides, stated that the findings from the exhumations to date demonstrate in the most unequivocal terms the tactics and behavior of the Turks toward the captives. He added that the issue of the missing persons concerns human life and dignity, and there is no room for compromises or concessions. “Yes, we have failed to conduct a substantive and effective investigation, as required by international law, but as an organization we have every right to be proud that, through our stance, we have ensured that, 52 years later, the issue of Cyprus’s missing persons remains on the international agenda.”
Referring to the work of the CMP, Mr. Sergides said that they recognize the work it carries out and the difficulties it faces, but they do not share the view that it has performed miracles, as some are attempting to give the impression on the international stage. “We fear that this overestimation of the CMP’s work will negatively affect any efforts to improve its operations and will provide excuses to those who, to this day, refuse to truly cooperate in resolvingthe issue.”
He spoke of Turkey’s efforts over the past three years to close the issue of the missing persons because the avenues for investigation have been exhausted, and he recalled the joint intervention by Cypriot and Greek organizations in Strasbourg during the discussion by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regarding Turkey’s compliance with relevant decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr. Sergides also referred to the requests made by relatives concerning the families of the missing persons.
The President of the Panhellenic Committee of Parents and Relatives of Unaccounted-for Prisoners and Missing Persons during the Cyprus Tragedy, Maria Kalbourtzi, stated that in recent years, the joint efforts, meetings with political leaders in Greece and Cyprus, as well as their interventions in international forums, demonstrate that coordination between Athens and Nicosia “is our strongest weapon.”
Despite the difficulties, he added, as time passes and takes with it the first heroes of this effort—our parents—“we, the next generation, stand tall. We do not seek revenge. We seek what is self-evident—the inalienable right of every human being: the truth.” They must learn, she added, the fate of even the last missing person and offer their loved ones the honor and peace that the occupying power has denied them for decades.
The President of the Organization of Relatives of Missing Cypriots in the United Kingdom, Neoklis Neocleous, proposed a “humanitarian collaboration that we believe can change the current situation”. He explained that the proposal includes a secure mechanism with a strict confidentiality protocol, under United Nations supervision, which would allow Turkey to share information with the CMP regarding locations—such as waypoints, maps, and terrain descriptions.
“No sensitive documents,” he continued, “will leave Turkey; no liability will be attributed; and no legal risk will arise.” Only coordinates and location data will be shared, he added. Turkey, he continued, will retain control of its archives, and only non-sensitive information will be shared, with the UN guaranteeing confidentiality. This is a matter of dignity, he said, and not of assigning blame. The entire process will be handled, he said, by a team consisting of members of the CMP, a UN official, and a representative from Turkey’s archives. Questions and answers will be conducted through the CMP representative, he explained. “The entire process can be implemented on a trial basis and renewed depending on its success.”
The Chairman of the Committee of Relatives of Missing Persons for the period 1963–1964, Haris Symeonides, stated that “I admire you for your fortitude, and I urge you never to grow weary, never to lose hope. We also do not forget our long-standing position that there will be no solution to the Cyprus problem unless the fate of every last missing person is determined. We hope that this position will never be abandoned.”
Mr. Symeonides congratulated the President of the Republic for making the issue of the missing persons a priority.
Source: CNA
