Further articles:
UN appoints new member to Committee for Missing Persons (Cyprus Mail)
Information Exchanged on the Missing in Cyprus (Macedonian Press Agency)
Information on Missing Persons to be Exchanged (Cyprus PIO)

Nicosia, Jan 23 (CNA) -- Representatives of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides exchanged today information about the location of graves of missing persons.

The two representatives agreed to "meet again soon" and said they would continue their work to obtain information on the graves of more Greek and Turkish Cypriot missing and described today's encounter as an important step forward.

This is the first time the two sides on this divided island have exchanged information about missing persons in a bid to make headway towards resolving this humanitarian issue.

The meeting took place at the Ledra Palace Hotel, situated in the UN- controlled buffer zone in Nicosia. It is the only check-point leading to the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus from the government-controlled territory.

In a brief statement to the press after the 45-minute long meeting, top UN envoy in Cyprus Gustave Feissel said today's meeting "is the implementation of the July 31 (1997) agreement" between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

The chief of mission of the UN operation here said the representatives, Takis Christopoulos (Greek Cypriot) and Rustem Tatar (Turkish Cypriot), met "to exchange information on the location of graves of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot missing persons."

They indicated that their respective sides would "continue their efforts to obtain information on the location of graves of further Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot missing persons."

The statement said the two men "agreed to meet again soon to discuss the preparation of arrangements leading to the return of the remains of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot missing persons in question."

All three men refrained from replying to any questions from the press.

Christopoulos said the meeting was "important as it is the beginning of the implementation of the July agreement."

Tatar said "I think both sides are sincere and we will proceed."

Replying to questions, he said resolving the issue of the missing persons could help efforts for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus question.

Tatar was not in a position to say how long the sides would take to study the information made available to them on the missing.

The Greek Cypriot side handed information on 200 Turkish Cypriots missing (of a total of 503 cases) and the Turkish Cypriot side gave information about 400 Greek Cypriots (of a total of 1,493 cases delivered to the committee of missing persons).

A total of 1,619 Greek Cypriots and Greeks were listed as missing soon after the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation of the island's northern third.

Copyright © 1998 Cyprus News Agency (CNA)

UN appoints new member to Committee for Missing Persons By Jean Christou

UN SECRETARY-general Kofi Annan has decided on a third member for the Committee for Missing Persons (CMP), it was revealed yesterday.

The decision was passed on by President Clerides to the committees representing the relatives of the missing.

The name of the third member, reported to be a veteran Swiss diplomat, is expected to be made public shortly.

Paul Wurth, the previous UN-appointed member of the CMP, resigned nearly three years ago over the lack of progress on the issue.

The announcement of his replacement, coming on the eve of today's historic exchange of information between the two sides, is the fulfillment of a promise by the UN chief to re-appoint a third CMP member in the event of progress on the issue of the missing.

Representatives of the two sides will meet today at the buffer-zone home of UN Permanent Representative Gustave Feissel, in what is seen as a significant development after more than 23 years of stagnation.

The agreement to exchange information was made at a humanitarian meeting between President Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in July last year.

Turkish Cypriot representative Rustem Tatar is expected to hand over information on 400 of the 1,619 Greek Cypriots missing since 1974.

Greek Cypriot Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Takis Christopoulos will in turn give Tatar information on some 200 of the 803 Turkish Cypriots said to be missing since inter-communal clashes in 1963.

But after yesterday's briefing by President Clerides, representatives of the relatives remained cautious.

Nicos Theodosiou said work on the information supplied by the Turkish side would probably begin next week.

"I expect that on Monday there will have to be a comparison of information, so I think the assessment will take a few days", he said.

Asked if the information submitted by the Turkish side referred to those who had died in battle in 1974, Theodosiou said it was premature to talks about names.

"At this stage, no one is talking about persons or names. This time, it's just an exchange of information. We are a long way from talking about names. We will only talk about names when we have proven remains," he said.

Another representative of the relatives, Father Economos Christoforou, said they would wait to see what the Turkish side would give.

"I believe we are doing very well," Christoforou said. "A road has been opened and we believe that if the Turks keep to the agreement we will arrive at a satisfactory conclusion."

Copyright © 1998 Cyprus Mail

Information Exchanged on the Missing in Cyprus

Information on the areas where missing Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are buried was exchanged today during a meeting of representatives from both communities held in the presence of the UN representative.

The Greek Cypriot side gave information on the grave sites of 200 Turkish Cypriots, who are missing since 1963, while the Turkish Cypriot side gave information on 400 missing Greek Cypriots.

Alternate UN secretary-general special envoy to Cyprus Gustav Feisel stated that the meeting was held within the framework of the July 31, 1997 agreement and took place in good faith from both sides.

Copyright © 1998 Macedonian Press Agency

Information on Missing Persons to be Exchanged

Representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities are meeting on Friday, 23.1.98, to exchange detailed information, for the first time, about the missing persons. Some 1587 Greeks are missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion and the Turkish side lists 500 people missing in the 1963-67 period.

The meeting is the result of a humanitarian agreement reached in July 1997 between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, stipulating that the sides will "provide each other immediately and simultaneously all information already at their disposal on the location of graves of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot missing persons".

On Thursday, 22.1.98, President Glafcos Clerides told the Committees of Relatives of the Missing that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided on the appointment of a third member of the Tripartite Red Cross Committee for Missing persons.

The name of the third member, reported to be a veteran Swiss diplomat, is expected to be made public shortly.

Paul Wurth, the previous UN-appointed member of the CMP, resigned nearly three years ago over the lack of progress on the issue.

Copyright © 1998 Cyprus Press and Information Office