President Nikos Christodoulides has urged Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side to provide information held by the Turkish military and allow access to suspected burial sites as efforts continue to establish the fate of people missing since the island’s conflicts.
In a written statement marking Cyprus Missing Persons Day on 29 October, Christodoulides said the government would continue its efforts until the fate of every missing person was established.
He described the issue as a humanitarian priority and said the truth about each missing person was essential for justice, reconciliation and lasting peace.
Call for access to military archives and burial sites
Christodoulides called for unrestricted access to Turkish military archives and other relevant records, as well as information about burial sites, the movement of remains and military operations.
He also called for investigations and exhumations to be facilitated in military zones and other areas where access remains restricted, alongside meaningful cooperation with the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) and relevant international organisations.
The president said the issue remained a priority in the government’s contacts with the Turkish Cypriot leadership, Turkey, the United Nations, the European Union and the wider international community.
Missing persons from 1963–1964 and 1974
Missing Persons Day honours those who remain missing following the 1974 Turkish invasion, as well as people who disappeared during the intercommunal violence of 1963–1964.
Christodoulides expressed solidarity with families who have endured decades of uncertainty and continue to seek answers about their loved ones.
“Today, we renew our promise that we will not compromise with forgetting and will not accept inaction,” he said.
Government pledges continued support for families
The president said the Republic of Cyprus would continue to support the work of the Committee on Missing Persons by providing institutional, technical and financial assistance.
The government is also working to gather and assess testimonies and archival material, accelerate exhumations and identifications, and keep families informed, he said.
Christodoulides added that support for relatives of missing persons remained a lasting obligation. The government would continue to address the social, financial and other challenges they face through targeted policies and ongoing dialogue with their organisations.
He also referred to a Council of Ministers decision to provide care for the parents and spouses of missing persons and fallen service members without applying financial criteria.
President says effort will continue until answers are found
In a separate post on X, Christodoulides said Cyprus had a moral duty to resolve an issue that had transformed the lives of hundreds of families and shattered the hopes of thousands.
He said the search for documented answers would continue until the fate of all missing persons was established, stressing the obligation owed to their children, living parents and relatives, as well as to families whose parents died without learning what happened to their missing loved ones.
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