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EUROPEAN
COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Some relatives of missing persons attended
the hearing of their case against Turkey in the Grand
Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),
on 19th
November 2008.
“We are all overwhelmed by the experience, let’s
hope that the judges of the Court will do their duty
and render justice,” was the comment of one of the
relatives.
The Court’s final decision is expected in three
to six months and would decide the issue of the missing
persons in Cyprus.
Turkey appealed against a previous
judgment of the ECHR condemning it for failing to carry
out an effective investigation into the fate of the
missing and for subjecting their relatives to inhumane
treatment as a result.
It waas pointed out that Turkey had a duty to
investigate the 1974 disappearance of the Greek
Cypriots since adopting the European Convention on
Human Rights in 1954.
On Thursday
13th November
2008, our President N. Neokleous accompanied
by Committee members C. Pavlou, K. Paschalis, Y.
Kouvaros and Federation members A. Karaolis and S.
Constantinides, had a meeting with the said MPs
regarding future actions to push forward our case. The
President congratulated A. Meale for his election to V.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly, Council of
Europe. Views and ideas were exchanged and future plans
agreed. It was a very useful meeting and it was also
agreed that a further meeting with the Foreign Office
would be a good idea. This to be held in Jan/Feb 09 and
the Cyprus Committee to be also represented. A meeting
with C. Flint (the new Minister for Europe) requested
by the Cyprus Committee, is also expected early next
year.
L to R:- Costas Pavlou, Andreas
Karaolis, Neoklis Neokleous, Allan Meale, Suzie
Constantinides, Rudi Vis, Yiannis Kouvaros and Kyriacos
Paschalis.
ORMC
members attend demo outside the Turkish embassy on 15th
November 08 (left) to condemn the illegal
declaration of independence of the pseudo state in the
north of Cyprus.
The
European Union (EU) to provide further funding for the
Committee for Missing Persons (CMP)
The
report, by the EU’s Special Rapporteur on Missing
Persons in Cyprus (Ms Ewa Klamt MEP) has been adopted
by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee of the European Parliament (18th June 08).
The EU will provide funding to the CMP of 2 million
euros from 2009 onwards. The European Parliament also
authorises Mrs Ewa Klamt to take all possible steps to
help both sides to continue the work in ascertaining
the fate of each and everyone of the Missing. The
report also indicates the need for Turkey to comply
with the ECHR judgement on the Missing of 10th May
2001.
Greece
makes further contributes to the CMP (Cyprus) - July
2008 to the tune of EUR 100,000
The CMP is striving to locate as many
remains as possible in order to bring an end to the
uncertainty, which has affected so many families for so
many years.
To date, the remains of over 400 individuals have been
exhumed and over 100 returned to the families
concerned.
The anthropologists and
geneticists working on the CMP Project on the
Exhumation, Identification and Return of Remains of
Missing Persons in Cyprus notified the Committee on
Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) of 11 new
identifications. All the families concerned have been
informed by the CMP over the past few days. The total
number of missing persons identified so far through the
CMP project is 105 (76 Greek Cypriots and 29 Turkish
Cypriots). Additional identifications of remains are
expected in the weeks to come. Exhumations continue to
be carried out island-wide by Cypriot archaeologists
and anthropologists of the CMP Bi-Communal Team. One
team is working in Gerasa on the search of remains of
Turkish Cypriot missing, while two teams are working in
Kyrenia and in the Mesaoria plain on the search for
Greek Cypriot missing persons. Similarly, exhumation
work was also carried out recently in the region of the
Karpasia.
Identifications:
Amongst the latest identifications of remains of our
Missing, identified Costas Melissos and Paschalis
Mosfili have relatives who are members of our
Organisation. We express our sincere condolences to
them. Individual sympathy letters have also been
sent.
European
Court finds Turkey guilty (again!) - April
2008
The case
concerns nine Cypriots missing since the Turkish
invasion of Cyprus in 1974. The court ruled that Turkey
had violated Article 2 (right to life) and Article 5
(right to liberty and security) of the European
Convention on Human Rights by failing to conduct an
effective investigation into their whereabouts. It also
found that Turkey had breached the rights of the nine
relatives under Article 3 (proscribing inhuman or
degrading treatment).
(The ECHR delivered the
same judgement in May 2001. Turkey however refuses to
comply with the Court’s decision and ignores interim
resolutions by the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe backing the Court’s decision)
The court rejected Turkey’s contention that missing
persons should be presumed dead. It also confirmed that
the CMP (Committee of Missing Persons) in Cyprus was
not satisfactory replacement of Turkey’s obligation to
conduct an effective investigation. This is of great
significance for some 170 similar applications to the
Court yet to be decided.
The
UK supports the ECHR judgement of Jan
08
The UK
Government, at the meeting of the Committee of the
Permanent Representatives in Strasbourg, 4-6 March 08,
has supported the judgement against Turkey on the issue
of the Missing and their relatives. This is the case of
the nine missing persons whose relatives brought the
case at the ECHR, back in 1990. Turkey is again asked
to provide all necessary information regarding the fate
of the said nine. Two of those missing, Andreas Varnava
and Savvas Apostolides, have got brothers and sisters
who live in the UK. These relatives have written to
their local MPs and MEPs requesting that pressure is
applied on Turkey, by the UK, so as to be forced to
abide by the ECHR judgement. This is in addition to the
efforts of our Organisation towards the Foreign
Office.