Cyprus will file a case with the European Court of Human Rights against Turkey to clarify the fate of some 1,500 Greek Cypriots who went missing during the 1974 Turkish invasion, the government spokesman said today.
"It was decided to take the missing persons' issue to the Permanent Members of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and at the same time to the European Court of Human Rights," Stephanos Stephanou told a news conference.
The action follows outrage in Cyprus after a Turkish actor said on television in Turkey on Thursday that he shot dead a 19-year-old Greek Cypriot prisoner of war and then went on to kill a further nine people during the invasion.
The actor, Attila Olgac, quickly retracted his remarks in a statement, saying that he had used the broadcast to test public reaction to a film scenario he had been writing.
Cyprus president Demetris Christofias met with Attorney-General Petros Clerides today and decided to file a case with the European Court of Human Rights in light of the actor's comments.
"Our main aim is that full consideration be taken on this issue so that we can help clarify the fate of our missing persons," Stephanou said.
Asked if the court case would be filed against Turkey, rather than an individual, Stephanou told reporters: "Yes."
Cyprus has been ethnically divided since the summer of 1974 when Turkish forces invaded the east Mediterranean island following a brief Greek-inspired coup. Approximately 1,500 Greek Cypriots and 500 Turkish Cypriots disappeared during the invasion and in ethnic clashes during the early 1960s.
Turkey refuses to recognise the Greek Cypriot government, which is a member of the European Union, and has troops stationed in a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in northern Cyrpus.
The Cyprus issue has been one of the main stumbling blocks to Turkey's bid to join the EU.
Reuters