THE Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus, visited London.
Turkish Cypriot members of the committee Gülden Plümer Küçük and her assistant Mine Balman held a meeting with the particapation of community members at the Turkish Women’s Philanthropic Association of England (TWPA).
Gülden Plümer Küçük, a member of the Committee on Missing Persons who works within the framework of the criteria for the elimination of persons who have been listed as a result of the tragic events in Cyprus in 1963-1964 and 1974, and identified within the criteria of identification and return of their identities, reached out to Cypriots living in London.
In addition, Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot committee members who visited London to make contacts and reach out to the public, will also examine archives from 1963 – 1964 and 1974 due to the presence of the British in Cyprus during these time periods.
Küçük addressed people living in England, she outlined that it is vital for people living in England to provide their DNA samples to the committee if they have missing relatives.
‘WE FOUND 50% OF TURKISH CYPRIOTS’
Providing information on the work of the Committee on Missing Persons so far, Küçük gave the following information about the persons found: “We found 50 percent of Turkish Cypriots and 42 percent of Greek Cypriots. Women and children of Turkish Cypriots account for 28 percent and women and children of Greek Cypriots are around 22 percent. All the Turkish Cypriots are civilians and 55 per cent of Greek Cypriots are soldiers.
‘PUSHED TO SILENCE’ We found all the losses in the light of the information people given by the members of the community. For years, these missing persons remained taboo on both sides. Thus on both sides, people were hesitant on providing information about missing persons. According to a recent survey pursued in regards to the families of the missing persons, the biggest complaint was based upon the fact that the community was not aware of what they lived through.”