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AUTONOMOUS
MISSING PERSONS COMMITTEE PREPARING THE EXHUMATION PROGRAM OF 2008
(09.01.2008)
Autonomous
Missing Persons Committee has started to prepare the exhumation
program of 2008, after a break of two weeks, because of Christmas,
Bayram and New Year holidays. The Committee, which had carried out
its scheduled exhumation studies last year, started to work on a new
program on the exhumations to be carried out in both Turkish and
Greek Cypriot sides.
The Committee,
which has carried out exhumations in many mass graves in both sides
of the island in addition to individual exhumations, will continue
to deliver the remains of Turkish and Greek Cypriot missing persons
to their relatives in 2008.
The Turkish
Cypriot Member of the Autonomous Missing Persons Committee Gulden
Plumer Kucuk pointed out that in the last period of 2007 a total of
368 remains belonging to both Turkish and Greek Cypriot missing
persons were found and 57 out of this were delivered, after being
identified, to the relatives of missing persons.
Stating that up
to now, nearly 7 million US Dollars has been spent for the
implementation of a project which started in 2004, Kucuk said 1.5
million US Dollars was provided by the Turkish Cypriot side and 2.5
million US Dollars by the Greek Cypriot side and the rest was
covered through donations.
Noting that 2.5
million US Dollars has been spent last year in which the remains of
57 missing persons were delivered to their relatives, Kucuk said the
amount envisaged for 2008 was 3.5 million US Dollars and the reason
for the increase in the finance demand was that the studies would be
intensified and the number of missing persons’ remains to be
delivered to their relatives would be higher.
9 January 2008
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