Relatives of missing persons on Tuesday called on the US and Russia to exert pressure on Turkey to cooperate for effective investigation to determine the fate of the people missing since the summer of 1974. A delegation of Pancyprian Organisation of Relatives Of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons together with representatives of Women Organisations of…
‘Talk before you die’ By @MelissaHekkers
Last year the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) received the permission and vocal backing of both political leaders to access 30 military zones to investigate the potential burial sites of missing persons. This year, the organisation has come forward to send a fresh humanitarian message to citizens of both communities. In a joint…
when 1963 and 1974 never happened
By Valentine Stavrou In Maths class, Ismet is upset because she likes George who likes Maria who likes Nicole who likes Hassan who likes the teacher. In Lit, we laugh at Romeo who loved Juliet to death because no death comes out of love and why die if you love, if you have found the…
Revisiting Angels and Demons of Cyprus
By Sila Ulucay The two leaders, Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akıncı, are continuing the talks in an atmosphere that has been identified as positive by many. Albeit hesitantly, many of us are expecting a solid result to come out of their ongoing work. Yet, the 12 years that has passed since the opening of the…
Turkish army releases footage from Cyprus operation in 1974
Turkey’s General Staff has released previously unseen footage from the 1974 military operation in Cyprus to mark the landing’s 41st anniversary. On July 20, 1974 Turkish military intervened in the island in response to an Athens-backed coup aiming to unite Cyprus with Greece. Turkish soldiers who took part in airborne and seaborne operations, as well…
Estranged from paradise since 1974
THE Karpasia is beautiful. It is more than beautiful. With its pristine beaches, gorgeous villages, windswept, rolling hills, it is heaven on earth. It is very different to the rest of the island. It always has been. Even in pre-1974 days. My father comes from the Karpas village of Ayios Symeon/Avtepe and we always used…
Forgotten heroes
It was pre-dawn July 22, 1974 and Cyprus was at war, there was mayhem and destruction – Greece was on a secret mission to help – it ended with a transport plane full of its commandos being shot down by friendly fire. Efforts to locate the remains of 19 Greek soldiers, killed when their plane…
Akinci: The ongoing negotiating process is the last chance
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (23.07.15) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has argued that the ongoing negotiations process is the last chance for finding a federal solution in Cyprus and that he is saying this “very clearly and openly”. In statements yesterday during a meeting with Turkey’s Disabled War Veterans’ Association, Akinci said: “The current…
This day in History | 1974 – Cyprus conflict spills into London
Thousands of Greek-Cypriots in London have been protesting about the disputed government of Cyprus. Turkish troops landed in the north of the Mediterranean island early yesterday morning after a Greek-sponsored coup in the capital, Nicosia, last week. More than 10,000 Greek-Cypriots and British left-wing activists marched through the centre of London in support of an…
G/c press referred to it as a “confession”. It is not. It is the reality
Mustafa Akinci 20/07/2015 We referred to it as a peace operation but indeed this was a war. Some of us in Cyprus lost our loved ones. Thousands of us had to go through the trauma of being displaced in our own country… When I first uttered this the other day, the Greek Cypriot…