“Divided we have suffered, but TOGETHER WE CAN build peace!” this was the main message conveyed by the Peace Festival of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, whereby 19 Cypriots from both communities were honoured for their courage and humanity, who came forward and provided information about possible burial sites and also helped the investigations on the “fate” of the missing from 1963 until 1974.

After several decades, action has been taken and continues in the occupied areas of Cyprus and areas under the authority of the Republic of Cyprus under the responsibility of the UN Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), mass graves are being located, exhumations and identification of remains take place and the relatives of the missing after 35-45 years of waiting finally are able to bury the remains of their loved ones.

The event, which was especially moving, was organized by the bi-communal peace movement at the Peace Park in the village of Kontea of Famagusta. The park is a unique “monument” in Cyprus for the peaceful coexistence of the two communities of the island and was created with the collaboration of Greek Cypriot refugees in the village and its current Turkish Cypriot residents, who mainly come from the villages of Agios Thomas and Plataniskia of Limassol. The event was funded by the UN Development Programme and the United States (UNDP and USAID).

Now the aim is to restore the orthodox church of St. Charalambos, a Roman Catholic chapel and a western manor in the village, but also the creation of a square in the village, where after 1974, the mosque was built.

Source: ANA–MPA
Source (Image): cmp-cyprus.org