Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides has called on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side to respond ‘meaningfully’ to requests for information held by the Turkish army and to grant access to possible burial sites, in a written statement marking Cyprus Missing Persons Day.
‘Today, we renew our promise that we will not come to terms with oblivion and will not accept inaction,’ President Christodoulides said, noting that the truth about every missing person ‘is an essential prerequisite for justice, reconciliation and lasting peace in our country’.
Today’s Missing Persons Day, he said, ‘is a day of remembrance and national responsibility’, as well as a day to honour all those who remain missing because of the 1974 Turkish invasion, along with those who went missing during the 1963-1964 period of intercommunal violence.
‘We stand in solidarity with their families, who have endured the anguish of uncertainty for decades and rightly expect answers about their loved ones,’ he said.
For the Republic of Cyprus, the issue of missing persons ‘is primarily a humanitarian matter, and our efforts will continue until the fate of every last missing person is established,’ he noted.
Within this framework, the President said, ‘we provide substantial support for the work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), offering every form of institutional, technical and financial assistance’. At the same time, he added, efforts were being stepped up to collect, assess and make use of testimonies and archives, accelerate exhumations and identifications, and ensure that families were kept properly informed.
He also said that, at international level, the Government raises the issue of missing persons ‘as a matter of priority’, and that it is discussed at every meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leadership, Turkey, the United Nations, the European Union and the international community.
‘Our position is clear and specific: full and unconditional access to the archives of the Turkish army and every other competent service, the disclosure of all information concerning burial sites, the movement of remains and military operations, the facilitation of investigations and exhumations in military zones and other areas where access is currently restricted, and meaningful cooperation with the CMP and the relevant international organisations,’ President Christodoulides stressed.
At the same time, he said, support for the families of missing persons ‘remains an ongoing obligation’. He added that the state would continue to address with care and consistency the social, financial and other challenges they face, through targeted policies and ongoing dialogue with their organisations.
It was within this framework, he noted, that the Council of Ministers had decided to provide care for the parents and spouses of missing persons and fallen servicemen without applying financial criteria.
‘On this occasion, I once again call on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side to respond meaningfully to requests for information held by the Turkish army and to grant access to possible burial sites,’ he said.
Until substantiated answers are provided for everyone, efforts will continue unabated, he added.
‘We owe it to the children and to the parents and relatives of missing persons who are still alive. Above all, however, we owe it to the mothers and fathers who passed away carrying the pain of their children’s absence,’ he concluded.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.
A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.
According to statistical data published on the CMP website by September 30, 2026 out of 2002 missing persons 1,721 were exhumed and 1,085 were identified. Out of 1,510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 765 were identified and 745 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 320 were identified and 172 are still missing.