RUSTEM TATAR: "ACCORDING TO US THE MISSING
ARE DEAD, BUT GREEK CYPRIOTS CLAIM OTHERWISE"
Recently retired from his position as the Turkish
Cypriot representative on the Autonomous Missing Persons Committee, Rustem
Tatar visited the Association for the Families of Martyrs and War Veterans.
During the meeting, Tatar reminded that the missing
persons issues started in 1963 when the Greek Cypriots starting their
attacks against the Turkish Cypriots. He said an office was set up to find
out what had happened to those Turkish Cypriots who went missing during
that period and despite the families of the missing persons believing
these people to be dead, some difficulties were encountered because
definite information regarding the missing persons could not be obtained.
Tatar said the issue should be closed by accepting that all the missing
persons are dead.
Tatar also indicated that while treating the Turkish
Cypriots as "friends, brothers", for years Greek Cypriot propaganda had
tried to shift full responsibility of the missing persons issue onto
Turkey.
Pointing out that it had been decided to set up a
laboratory in the buffer zone to carry out DNA tests on the exhumed bones,
Tatar said he believed there was only a 20-30% chance of any conclusions
being produced from these studies.
Indicating that in previous negotiations carried out in
Europe the Greek Cypriot administration had accepted all of the missing
persons as being dead and that he had proposed to erect a joint monument
in memory of the missing persons, Tatar said the Greek Cypriot side had
rejected this proposal because it was still continuing its propaganda
alleging that "the missing persons were still alive" and were filing many
cases against Turkey on this issue for political gain.
