Park of the Missing Cypriots

The Park of the Missing Cypriots is a place of remembrance dedicated to the people in Cyprus who were reported missing after the Turkish invasion in 1974. The Kodras barracks is home to 1619 cypress trees planted to represent the number of Greek Cypriots and Greeks missing due to the Turkish invasion and illegal occupation of 37% of Cyprus. Among the missing are soldiers and civilians captured by the invading Turks or people who disappeared from areas controlled by the Turkish army. According to data of the Pancyprian Organisation of the Relatives of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons, most of the missing were young adults. Still, there are also hundreds of middle-aged or older people and dozens of women and children. Among them are about eighty Greek citizens. In 2006, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) began to recover and identify the remains of the missing. So far, CMP has returned 870 persons to their families. The CMP’s focus is the fate of Greek Cypriot and Greek victims of the Turkish invasion and about five hundred Turkish Cypriots, who went missing during the intercommunal conflicts of 1964-1965 or since 1974. The Committee is not concerned with the manner of death (even if the cause is apparent, such as a hole in the skull from the execution or a coup de grâce). Despite its tireless efforts, 850 Greek Cypriots and 47 Greeks remain missing to this day.

The choice of the cypress tree is associated with its function as a symbol of male valour and expression of mourning. The Grove of the Missing reminds us of the timeless debt for determining the fate of the missing while at the same time expressing the belief for the final vindication of Cyprus. In the church of Agios Alexandros, located inside the camp, an annual memorial is held for those who lost their lives during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, followed by the replacement of any damaged trees.