Cyprus News Agency: News in English (AM), 99-07-18

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Kasoulides - Brussels - Athens

[02] Cyprus - Ireland - Exhumations

1215:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Kasoulides - Brussels - Athens

In his speech on Monday, Kasoulides will emphasise the need for peace and stability to prevail in south-eastern Europe.

He will also urge for the implementation of international law principles.

From Brussels, Kasoulides will fly to Athens to meet his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, and Alternate Foreign Minister, Yiannos Kranidiotis.

Kasoulides returns to Cyprus on Wednesday evening.

CNA EC/RG/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1325:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Cyprus - Ireland - Exhumations

Nicosia, Jul 18 (CNA) --Two islands - two countries - both subjected to years of pain and suffering. Now both have taken for the first time a huge step forward to help ease this torment for at least some of their citizens, whose loved ones are no longer with them.

In one case (the island of Aphrodite) they are listed as missing, in the other (the emerald island) they are known to be dead but the families never got their remains to bury and mourn them.

In the past month, the suffering of two families in Northern Ireland at long last has come to an end with the discovery of the remains of their loved ones.

In Cyprus, the first phase of the process of exhumation and identification of remains of Greek Cypriot and Greek war dead of the 1974 Turkish invasion was completed last week. This is hoped to lead to the identification of remains through scientific methods to end of 25 years of uncertainty for some people.

The Commission for the location of victims' remains told the families that digging at five remaining sites in the Republic of Ireland is to stop in the hope that more information would be given to help resume excavation work.

Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said the decision to exhume remains in the areas of the Republic under government jurisdiction (the northern part of the country is still under Turkey's occupation 25 years after its troops invaded) aims to "deal with a very serious humanitarian issue and ease the pain of at least some families."

He told a press conference at the start of the process in early June that the right of the relatives to know the fate of their loved ones should be respected.

The comments of Marjorie Mowlam, Northern Ireland Secretary of State, echo this feeling. She said "the families of the victims have endured great suffering, in some cases over long period". If the remains of their loved ones can be located funerals can take place and a period of uncertainty brought to an end, Mowlam said.

In Cyprus the decision to unearth remains does not emanate from an agreement on the issue of the missing between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, concluded in July 1997.

The agreement has so far failed to produce any results because of the lack of cooperation on the part of the Turkish Cypriot side. It claims that all Greek Cypriot and Greek missing are dead, killed by Turkish Cypriot paramilitaries during the invasion, but has produced no evidence to back these claims.

In Northern Ireland, the decisions to try and locate graves of the disappeared is incorporated in legislation governing the establishment and operation of the human rights commission, as provided in the Good Friday agreement of 10 April, 1998.

The bill notes that the Northern Ireland Victims Commission "will receive and disclose as necessary information to facilitate the location of the remains."

In spite of public statements, officials in both countries have a glimmer of hope that the process they encouraged would lead to further moves with a view to benefit both sides of the divide.

Foreign Minister Kasoulides said everything will be carried out with scientifically proven methods and expressed hope that the momentum created would lead the international community and the Turkish side to be convinced that the Nobel peace prize winner "Physicians for Human Rights" organisation will continue its work in accordance with the provisions of the July 1997 agreement.

Mowlam said "if early progress can be achieved, it would bode well for our discussions", which ended inconclusively this week as parties involved in the peace effort failed to resolve their differences on decommissioning and form a Northern Ireland executive.

In both countries, it has been made clear that any information divulged to the authorities during this process will not be used in court against anybody.

In Ireland, Mowlam said the government's action was "entirely designed to relieve years of suffering experience" and the relevant legislation pointed out that "information given to the Commission and any evidence which comes to light as a result will not be used in criminal proceedings."

The Cyprus government has entrusted the non-profit, non governmental organisation Physicians for Human Rights with the task of exhuming and analysing the data whereas in Ireland, exhumations are carried out by the police, after the IRA gave information about the location of graves.

In both cases, exhumations are carried out in accordance with some rules and regulations. In Cyprus, there was a cabinet decision sanctioning the exhumation and identification process, on the basis of existing legislation whereas in Northern Ireland, apart from the Good Friday agreement provisions "to acknowledge and address the suffering of the victims of violence as a necessary element of reconciliation", Mowlam introduced legislation on the matter.

The terms used by either side to refer to those killed or missing may be somewhat different, but there is no doubt that they share a common denominator.

In Cyprus we talk about "war dead of the Turkish invasion", in Ireland they talk about "disappeared". But people in both places want, need and have a right to have returned to them the remains of their loved ones for proper burial in accordance to their respective religious beliefs.

In Cyprus, people are still being tormented by the uncertainly of the fate of their beloved persons and do not know who was exhumed but in Ireland people know their loved ones were murdered.

Here, the location of graves where exhumations are taking place is and has been known, in Ireland the authorities had to obtain the consent of IRA paramilitaries and information from them to exhume.

Working teams were set up in both countries to help with the process, on the practical as well as the administrative level. Here the team comprises Foreign Ministry officials and officers from many other departments. In Northern Ireland, the commission is made up of people from both sides of the divide and it is chaired by Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, himself a victim of a failed assassination attempt.

In the case of Cyprus, only the families concerned will be given detailed information, if they wish, about the circumstances of the death of their loved ones, once they are identified and if these can be ascertained. In both countries deaths occurred in the mid seventies.

The government of Cyprus, in its attempt to carry out a process whose credibility and reliability cannot be questioned, has entered into an agreement with the physicians for Human Rights and as the team leader Dr William Haglund told CNA the object of the exercise is "to make every effort to identify the remains we exhume", noting this may not prove to be possible in all cases.

Haglund, a forensic anthropologist, leads the team of experts which includes a Cypriot scientist in this effort and his worldwide experience in Bosnia and Rwanda in such matters is certainly a help.

The independent commission for the location of victims in Ireland remains cautioned about early success but assured the families that "it will spare no effort in obtaining any relevant information or seeing that any information received is acted upon fully."

Haglund, an American professor, said that the exhumation and identification process is a collective effort" undertaken by the government of the Republic in cooperation with the Physicians for Human Rights and the Cyprus Institute of Genetics and Neurology. He did not fail to pay tribute to the families of the war dead, as the primary people directly affected by this process.

Haglund described the facilities and services provided for the project as the "best he has ever come across in such an endeavour."

CNA MM/EC/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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