The funeral of Sevgül Uludag, the journalist who, for decades, wrote for the newspaper “Yeni Düzen” and published reports on the stories of the missing for decades.

As her husband mentioned in a post, the funeral took place after the noon prayer at 12 p.m. at the cemetery in occupied Nicosia, where she will be buried.

A large crowd from both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities attended the funeral. Among them were politicians such as Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, who carried the coffin.

Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou also attended the funeral.

AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou was also present; in a post, he stated that “Today we bid farewell to Sevgül Uludag, a champion of peace for Cyprus, for a solution to the Cyprus problem, and for the reconciliation of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.”

Meanwhile, messages of condolence and tributes to her legacy continue to pour in from the Turkish Cypriot community.

The Turkish Cypriot media are reporting on the emotional farewell by the wife of former Turkish Cypriot leader Derviş Eroğlu, Meral Eroglu, who publicly wrote about her friendship with the deceased—which began in 2008—and Uludag’s role in locating her missing brother. At that time, she had asked Uludag for an interview for Yeni Düzen regarding her brother, Hasan Yılmaz Ahmet, who had been missing since 1963, noting that Uludag was not merely a journalist chasing stories, but a remarkable person who felt the pain of others in her heart.

Thanks to Sevgül’s many years of patient and determined efforts, Meral Eroğlu wrote, her brother’s remains were found in early 2010. She writes of a lifelong bond of sisterhood with Uludag, who did not discriminate against people based on their language, religion, ethnicity, or political views, but that her only criteria were conscience and humanity.

She explained that she had wanted to visit her when she learned of her illness, but Sevgül refused; Meral Eroğlu wrote that their last phone conversation was essentially a farewell and expressed her deep sorrow over this.

Sevgül Uludag was of great value not only to herself, Ms. Eroğlu wrote, but also to the “country” and the people of Cyprus. “We have all lost someone. Our country has lost a valuable investigative journalist, a tireless activist who dedicated her life to finding the missing, and an important writer who kept the memory of the Turkish Cypriot people alive.”

The staff of the Committee on Missing Persons dedicated an article to her memory in Sevgül’s column in Yeni Düzen, including photographs from the team’s meetings with her, the conversations they had, and the on-site excavations she attended.

They write about Uludag’s struggle for truth, her conscience, and her humanity, highlighting her dedication to finding the missing, the hope she brought to hundreds of families, and the lasting mark she left on Cyprus’s collective memory.

CMP staff provide details on the ongoing excavations at various sites and conclude the article addressed to Sevgül Uludag with the phrase “With our everlasting love and respect. The staff of the DEA.”