Hair-raising stories of atrocities by the invading Turkish Army troops in Cyprus, in 1974

By Sener Lebent

The decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2014, for 90 million € compensation has not been carried out yet. Turkey has yet not paid the amount. What kind of a case was this? It concerned the missing persons in Cyprus.

The Greek Cypriot side has gone to the ECHR in Strasbourg. The Court agreed to hear the case in 1996 and issued a decision in 2001. But it had not made public the level of compensation. This was made public just five years ago (2014). Ninety (90) million euros! This money will be given to families of Greek Cypriots missing. But, as we already stated, Turkey still does not pay.

The issue of missing persons is one of the festering wounds of Cyprus that have not healed, instead they are still bleeding. The Missing Persons Investigating Committee (MPIC) that was set up in 1981 has found the remains of only 980 of the 2002 officially missing and has delivered their remains to their families.* The investigations continue at a slow pace, while very many of the murderers are alive, no one forces them to appear before the committee and provide evidence or information.

Not even the man who boasted, while looking us straight in our eyes through television and saying “my special skill was to kill Greek Cypriot prisoners of war”. There is also a further point: no information is provided regarding the conditions under which the missing persons whose remains have been found, were killed. For some reason an agreement was made when the committee was established. In the island barbaric stories circulate from mouth to mouth that are horrifying. And all of a sudden we have an official from Turkey saying that “If Turkish Cypriots raped Greek Cypriot women and girls that is your own internal affair, do not blame us”. He places all of the blame on the Turkish Cypriots.

That is, the Turkish Army that came over from Turkey is innocent. All acts of barbarism that took place, they were the doings of Turkish Cypriots! I am not saying that we Turkish Cypriots did not do anything, but sir, you cannot cover up the fact that your own soldiers did much more. And since you do not have an idea, I will tell you myself. You had a known prison in Diarbakkir. A hell hole similar to that of Abbu Graib in Iraq. There, where you were feeding excrement to all. You would dip the prisoners into shit and then take them out.

> Politics