Search begins for missing Cypriots

More than 2,000 people have been missing for decades

A thaw in relations between Cyprus's Greek and Turkish communities has led to a new attempt to locate more than 2,000 missing people on the divided island.

Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, met for an hour on Friday morning to discuss the issue.

They agreed to formulate separate draft proposals on what practical steps should be taken to determine the fate of people who have been missing since the first intercommunal clashes in 1964.

The proposals will be exchanged next week through the UN special representative on the island, and, if acceptable to both sides, they will form the basis of a final agreement.

We will take this initiative today to solve this issue from a humanitarian perspective, and God willing we will succeed

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash

They held their first face-to-face meeting for four years on 4 December, amid rising hopes for a settlement of the longstanding dispute this year.

They are due to begin negotiations about the future of the island in earnest on 16 February.

One of the key issues on the Friday's talks agenda is the exchange of information on the location of mass graves on both sides.

Answers sought

Almost 1,500 Greek Cypriots and more than 800 Turkish Cypriots are still on the missing lists.

Dinner diplomacy helped to achieve a breakthrough

Greek Cypriots vanished during the invasion by Turkey in 1974, in response to a coup by supporters of a union with Greece.

Turkish Cypriots disappeared in the violence which broke out in the 1960s and 1970s.

Children and other civilians are also among the missing on both sides.

"We only know they were alive when they were caught. What happened to them?" Georgia Agapiou, whose army reservist husband is still on the Greek Cypriot missing list, told the Reuters news agency.

"We need answers," she said.

Breakthrough

In the five weeks, Mr Clerides and Mr Denktash have also made unprecedented visits to each other's homes for talks over dinner.

Analysts say the talks themselves are likely to be difficult, with Mr Denktash still apparently seeking some kind of formal recognition for his breakaway state, which is recognised only by Turkey.

But with Cyprus due to join the European Union in 2004, the pressure to find a solution has never been greater.

Turkey has warned it could annex the Turkish Cypriot part of the island if Cyprus joins the EU without a settlement to the 28-year-old conflict.

Turkey still maintains thousands of troops in the northern part of the island.