MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the mass graves of the Missing Persons of Ashia, at Ornithi village in the occupied part of Cyprus
10.2.2015 - (2015/2551(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Charles Tannock, Valdemar Tomaševski, Ruža Tomašić, Notis Marias on behalf of the ECR Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0150/2015
B8‑0153/2015
European Parliament resolution on the mass graves of the Missing Persons of Ashia, at Ornithi village in the occupied part of Cyprus
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Turkey,
- having regard to its resolutions of 15 March 2007 and of 18 June 2008 on missing persons in Cyprus,
- having regard to its declaration of 9 June 2011 on the work of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus,
- having regard to its written declaration of 7 March 2011 on the work of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus,
- having regard to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) of 10 May
2001 and of 10 January 2008 concerning missing persons in Cyprus and the 12 May 2014
Grand Chamber judgment in the case of Cyprus versus Turkey,
- having regard to the resolutions of the UN Security Council,
- having regard to Resolution 1868 (2012) of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on The International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance,
- having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on the 14th of August 1974 the village of Ashia was captured by the Turkish Army, whereas during the summer of 1979 all citizens were expelled by force from their village by the Turkish armed forces;
B. whereas in total 84 people went missing after 1974, with over 50 believed to have died in a mass execution together with Cypriots from other areas; whereas their bodies were thrown into two wells in the Ornithi area;
C. whereas in 2009, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) carried out an investigation in the Ornithi area which revealed mass graves, two wells and burial plots of ten additional missing people who disappeared from Ashia;
D. whereas this discovery strengthens the credibility of accusations that the Turkish Army previously removed remains from the wells and buried them elsewhere in a bid to conceal evidence of the mass executions;
E. whereas the ECHR ruled on 10 May 2001 that Turkey is in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights on account of the failure of the authorities of the respondent State to conduct an effective investigation into the whereabouts of Greek-Cypriot missing persons who disappeared in life-threatening circumstances;
F. whereas the ECHR further ruled that there has been a continuing violation of Article 5 of the Convention by virtue of the failure of the authorities of the respondent State to conduct an effective investigation into the whereabouts and fate of the Greek-Cypriot missing persons in respect of whom there is an arguable claim that they were in Turkish custody at the time of their disappearance; whereas the ECHR further stated that there has been a continuing violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the relatives of the Greek-Cypriot missing persons;
1. Expresses its sympathy with the families of all missing people still living in uncertainty;
2. Condemns the Turkish forces for exhuming the mass graves of Ornithi as an attempt to conceal a war crime and as an act of great disrespect to the living families of those that were buried there;
3. Commends the work of the CMP and highlights the importance of intensifying its activities as half of all missing persons have yet to be located and more than two-thirds have yet to be identified;
3. Notes that although 2014 was the most successful year to date with regards to the number of missing people identified, the number of exhumations has remained at 65 for the second consecutive year;
4. Notes that the CMP made an urgent call for anyone with information of possible burial sites to contact CMP investigators; stresses in this regard the need for the full cooperation of Turkey and calls on Turkey to provide CMP with full access to military archives and military zones for exhumation;
5. Welcomes EU financial support provided to the CMP which now exceeds EUR 16.2 million, making it by far the largest donor to the CMP; welcomes as well the financial support from nine EU Member States, Turkey and other third party donors.
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the High Representative and the Governments and Parliaments of Turkey and Cyprus.