Russia makes first donation in search for Cypriot missing

Russia donated $50,000 to the UN-led Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus, making its first contribution during a visit to the anthropological laboratory in Nicosia by its ambassador  Stanislav Viliorovich Osadchiy.

In a statement the CMP expressed its sincere thanks to Moscow as “this is the first donation of the Russian Federation to the Committee.”

“This contribution to the CMP Project on the Exhumation, Identification and Return of Remains of Missing Persons in Cyprus will support the Committee’s goal of identifying and returning as many remains of missing individuals as possible to bring an end to the uncertainty which has affected so many families for so many years.”

So far, 969 missing persons from both communities have been identified and returned to their families for dignified burials.

The CMP relies on donor support to alleviate the suffering of the concerned families.

July 2007 marked a turning point as the CMP began returning the first remains of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot individuals to their families.

These individuals had been missing since the tragic events of 1963-64 and 1974.

The primary objective of the CMP is to enable relatives of missing persons to recover the remains of their loved ones, arrange for a proper burial and close a long period of anguish and uncertainty.

Most Cypriot families have been directly or indirectly affected and it is hoped that the healing of old wounds will in turn favour the overall process of reconciliation between the divided communities.

Number of missing people:

Greek Cypriots: 1510

Turkish Cypriots: 492

Identified Individuals returned to their families:

Greek Cypriots: 700

Turkish Cypriots: 269

Sites excavated:

Opened: 1312 (No of Human remains on sites: 1221)