CMP reps stress importance of cooperation to find missing

The Representatives of the Greek Cypriot community and the Turkish Cypriot community to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), Leonidas Pantelides and Hakki Muftuzade, respectively, on Sunday underlined the importance of cooperation while addressing the humanitarian issue of missing persons.

Pantelides and Muftuzade shared their experiences during a one-day seminar at Neapolis University Paphos, dedicated to missing persons.

Pantelides referred to the difficulties faced by the committee, saying that although they have located the remains of 1,200 people since 2006, they have identified less because, as he explained, several bones are still being analysed.

He added that there are seven CMP mixed crews staffed from both communities saying that they always work throughout Cyprus, following pieces of information for missing persons.

In addition, Pantelides referred to his meeting with the President Nikos Christodoulides, after his election, saying that he asked for an increase in the number of crews. He also referred to recent announcements by Christodoulides regarding an increase in the contribution of the Republic towards CMP.

Pantelides referred to the difficulties CMP faces and the enormous need for cooperation, adding that without cooperation and joint effort, the committee cannot work. He added that the CMP has isolated the problem from its political dimension.

Also speaking at the event, Muftuzade addressed the families of the missing persons, stressing that CMP is determined “to do everything possible to recover the remains of the missing persons. This is a delicate humanitarian issue that we regard as a sacred duty.”

Muftuzade then described the beginning of his involvement with the issue of missing persons.

“My first experience with the missing persons issue was in 1964 when my teacher’s husband did not return from Nicosia with his two friends,” he said. Referring to the initial period after the establishment of the CMP, he said the two sides “argued constantly over side issues, and we could not move forward.”

“It took the leaders from 1981 to 1997 to establish the missing persons list. In 2006, the committee assumed the role of a bicommunal institution where we cooperate,” Muftuzade added.

“We have employed more investigators, including a retired policeman and a full-time psychologist. Our investigations have become more successful. Together with my colleague, Mr Pantelides, we are interviewing witnesses ourselves. Recently, we were in Kyrenia, Afania, and Tziaos interviewing people. We took a witness to two locations in Tziaos. We were confident that we were close to recovering remains there. We excavated the busiest children’s park in Kyrenia, looking for remains. Unfortunately, we could not locate them. One witness was 95 years old – perhaps disoriented by age,” he said.

Muftuzade described the role of the committee as crucial, stressing that “we also contribute to the overall solution of the Cyprus problem. We continue excavating across Cyprus to find remains. Our teams work together without regard to ethnicity or community – proving our unified approach. Recently, delegations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, and China have visited to learn from our experience.”

Finally, concerning his relationship and cooperation with Pantelides, Muftuzade underlined that “we depend on each other and must cooperate to succeed, establishing trust and confidence – critical for our work. This spirit has extended to the CMP staff, who work harmoniously. I am confident we are close to recovering more remains. We have identified sites in Kyrenia and elsewhere in the north for imminent excavation and hope to locate remains. As my colleague stated, we avoid blaming each other for politicizing this issue – vital for our continued success.”

The former Third Member of CMP Paul Henri Arni also made a brief online intervention at the seminar.

The CMP was 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 26 October 2023, of the 1,510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 743 were identified and 767 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 292 were identified and 200 are still missing. This year, only five missing persons were identified, according to the same data.