Parents, spouses of missing persons to get state care

The institutional care of parents and spouses of missing persons is covered by a new law, presidential commissioner Marios Hartsiotis said on Tuesday. Hartsiotis told MPs of the House refugee committee that a “small gap” remained regarding institutional care, which was moving towards immediate resolution. Speaking after the meeting, Hartsiotis said the legislation was passed in June, eliminating financial criteria for home care, so that all parents and spouses of missing persons could benefit. The commissioner said the government was also demonstrating the necessary sensitivity for women and men who suffered abuse during the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island, as well as prisoners and the wounded. The state, he said, was calculating the cost of the assistance to be provided, which he assured was “not to negate” the need to provide care. “The least the state can do is to finally attribute – 52 years later – what is self-evident.” Giving numbers, Hartsiotis said there were approximately 1,700 children of missing persons alive today, as well as 700 people who were either enclaved in the occupied north or had chosen to resettle there. He said efforts were underway to compile a registry to determine the exact number of beneficiaries and calculate the cost to be budgeted. “We are moving forward with determination on these very sensitive and delicate issues, so as to resolve them in the best possible way,” he assured. House refugee committee chairman Akel MP Nikos Kettiros said this was a positive development.