Execution of Greek Cypriot POWs

The truth is still missing

(Cyprus Weekly) - Revelations about the summary execution of five Greek Cypriot POWs by the Turks in 1974 have shocked public opinion and rekindled painful memories.

For their families, it is ironic that they should be expected to find solace in news that their loved ones were shot in the head in cold blood and thrown down a well, despite international conventions safeguarding the lives of captured soldiers.

News that a Greek Cypriot family, including two invalid and bedridden children, was murdered by Turkish soldiers in their home in Lapithos that same tragic summer has only added to the fury.

Yet, despite the justified rage within the Greek Cypriot community, it is important for everyone to look beyond.

Relatives of the missing argue that the plight of their loved ones is a humanitarian matter that should not be used to score political points. Their focus, quite justifiably, has been to keep the issue away from politics so as to get to the truth.

But they have also made clear that this does not mean that those responsible should not be held to account for their actions.

Cynics may shrug their shoulders and argue that atrocities are inevitable in any armed conflict. In so doing, they are unwittingly perhaps, coming dangerously close to condoning a crime. Once they do, they are already half way down a slippery slope that negates a whole system of rules and conventions hammered together by the international community in the hope of ensuring a basic minimum of humanity – even in times of war.

That these rules have been blatantly broken too many times all over the world does not make it right.

The day will hopefully come when a Cyprus settlement is reached, and Turkey and Cyprus no longer see themselves as enemies. A full investigation that will bring those responsible of human rights violations during the 1974 invasion to trial will bring that day closer.

NYU Excavations Point to Temple Site on Island Off Cyprus

New York University Digs in Cyprus Show Worship of God Apollo

By Paul Tugwell

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Archaeologists in Cyprus found evidence that an island off the Mediterranean country’s south- west coast was the site of a temple for worshiping Apollo, the ancient Greek god of light, prophecy, music and healing.

Excavations led by New York University on Geronisos unearthed fragments of pithoi, or storage vessels probably used to hold olive oil, that could be repaired to stand to a height of 1.20 meters, among the largest storage containers ever found on Cyprus, according to a statement today on the Web site of the Cypriot Interior Ministry’s Public Information Office.

The vessel fragments, which date from the 1st century B.C., were found in what appears to be a storeroom or pantry facility, probably servicing a complex of previously found dining rooms, the statement said.

The digs also unearthed a sculptured lion’s head that “would have been plastered and painted as a fitting adornment for a monumental structure, possibly a temple,” according to the statement.

Previous digs on the island showed that Geronisos was an ancient religious tourist center for worshiping Apollo, son of the king of the Greek gods, Zeus, and the nymph, Leto.

“The discovery of this storage facility represents an important breakthrough in our understanding of the experience of ancient pilgrims on Geronisos,” the Cyprus Department of Antiquities said in the statement, “and the ritual dining that seems to have taken place within the complex of rooms in the central south sector of the island.”

Cyprus marks 35th anniversary of second Turkish offensive

(CNA) - Cyprus marks Friday the 35th anniversary of Turkey`s second offensive against the island in the summer of 1974 resulting in the occupation of the island’s northern third.

It was 14 August 1974 when Ankara`s representatives to the Geneva peace talks refused to give the Greek Cypriot representative time to consider their proposals and effectively presented Glafcos Clerides, former President of the Republic, with an ultimatum.

Turkish troops invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974, five days after the legal government of the late Archbishop Makarios III was toppled by a military coup engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece.

Two unproductive conferences in Geneva followed; the first between Britain, Greece and Turkey and the second with the additional attendance of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot representatives.

Three weeks after a ceasefire was declared on 22 July, and despite the fact that talks were still being held and just as an agreement seemed about to be reached, the Turkish army mounted a second full-scale offensive.

As a result, Turkey increased its hold to include the booming tourist resort of Famagusta in the east and the rich citrus-growing area of Morphou in the west. All in all almost 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus came under Turkish military occupation.

Nearly one third of the population, some 200,000 Greek Cypriots, were forcibly uprooted from their homes and properties, thousands were killed during the hostilities, over 1,000 persons were listed as missing while thousands of Greek Cypriots and Maronites remained enclaved.

The European Court of Human Rights has found Turkey guilty of mass violations of human rights in Cyprus.

Over the years, a number of unsuccessful peace rounds were launched under the auspices of the United Nations to find a settlement. These efforts were short lived as they stumbled on the Turkish Cypriot side’s insistence to gain recognition for the puppet regime it set up in November 1983. Only Turkey has recognized the so-called regime which was branded by the Security Council ``legally invalid``.

Ankara has ignored numerous UN resolutions calling for respect of the sovereignty, the independence and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish occupation troops.

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat began in September 2008 UN-led direct talks to achieve a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem and so far had 40 meetings covering the first reading of all main aspects of the Cyprus problem (Governance and power-sharing, property, territory, EU matters, economic matters and security).

The agreed solution, they added, will be put to separate simultaneous referenda.

The two leaders are scheduled to enter the second phase on September 3.

MP wants Turkey to own up on G/C prisoners of war

(Cyprus Weekly) - NICOSIA – DISY MP and Vice President of the Committee on Human Rights of PACE, Christos Pourgourides called on Terry Davis, Council of Europe Secretary General, to ask the Turkish government for clarifications on what happened to Greek Cypriot prisoners of war.
Recent evidences suggests that soldiers were executed after being captured by Turkish army during Turkey’s invasion in 1974.

Pourgourides has also asked the President of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of PACE, German MP Herta Daubler-Gmelin, to include the issue on the agenda of the Committee’s next meeting in September.

Pourgourides -- through PACE -- has requested the Turkish government for full disclosure on what happened to Greek Cypriot soldiers. He will also underline that the execution of prisoners constitutes a war crime, therefore the Turkish government is obliged, according to the relevant decision of the ECHR, to proceed with a full investigation.