War crimes 'were committed in Cyprus'

(CNA) - War crimes were committed during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Roger Gale, Conservative Member of the British Parliament has said in an interview with London Greek Radio.

Gale spoke about the remains of five Greek Cypriot prisoners of war, identified 35 years after they were killed, and thrown down a well, and stressed: “I think that the news that has come through confirms simply what most of us have always believed, which is that in the course of the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus war crimes were committed. That is a fact that needs to be fully and properly investigated by the appropriate authorities and the appropriate action taken. I would be saddened however if any such investigation were to delay the process of the retrieval of remains that can be identified because the most important thing I think is that families who have been waiting for news, have the news and are able to obtain at least some kind of closure”, he noted.

Asked what Britain can do to help solve this problem, Gale said he does not think “this is particularly a problem that Britain can involve itself in other way than as one of the guarantor powers. The process is one that is probably going to be hastened, if at all by the United Nations and the International Red Cross”, he added.