Concerns over the political exploitation of the issue of missing persons in Cyprus through the approval of a one-sided memorial in the European Parliament have been expressed by Hüseyin Akansoy and Petros Souppouris in a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, asking that this mistake be corrected as soon as possible.
Hüseyin Akansoy and Petros Souppouris, who received the European Citizen’s Award in 2012, note in their letter that they are two Cypriots, a Turkish Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot, and among the most tragic victims of the Cyprus conflict. During the ethnic conflicts and the war, dozens of civilians from their families, especially small children and the elderly, were killed or went missing.
Despite this, they have never succumbed to hatred or hostility. They made no distinctions between the victims of the two communities. By understanding each other’s pain, they embraced one another and have struggled and continue to struggle together for peace, friendship, and reconciliation in Cyprus. With other friends who have faced similar tragedies from both communities of the island, they founded in 2006 their organization “Together We Can,” the Bi-communal Association of Relatives of Missing Persons and Victims of Conflict and War 1963–1974.
They note that their efforts to resist enmity and promote friendship without distinguishing between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were recognized by the European Parliament, which honored them with the European Citizen’s Award in 2012.
They express gratitude for this recognition, emphasizing that it is very important for their ongoing efforts for peace, because they believe that the European Union is a Union based on the values of respect for human dignity, equality, and human rights.
They also believe that the European Union can assist in their country’s pursuit of peace and contribute to peaceful coexistence between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots.
However, they stress that they were recently informed of a development that saddens them and contradicts the fundamental principle of inclusive truth. They explain that in the 2026 budget of the European Parliament, funds have been allocated for a memorial to be placed in the Parliament building. This memorial, as a result of an initiative by Cypriot Members of the European Parliament, is intended only for Greek Cypriot victims of 1974.
Hüseyin Akansoy and Petros Souppouris argue that it is historically and morally inconceivable to believe that only one community suffered on this island, erasing the pain of the families of Turkish Cypriot missing persons. The anguish and suffering have roots even before 1974. Even in 1974, crimes of unspeakable brutality were also committed against Turkish Cypriots. The politicization of a humanitarian issue only makes efforts to heal this wound even more difficult.
They stress that this is not what they expect from the European Union, which symbolizes peace, friendship, and cooperation. With the letter, they kindly ask that this mistake be corrected as soon as possible. If a memorial is to be placed in the European Parliament building, it should be dedicated to all the victims of the Cyprus tragedy.
It is noted that former MEP Niyazi Kizilyürek also sent a letter to President Roberta Metsola regarding the same issue.
Letter to Roberta Metsola
"Your Excellency,
We are two Cypriots, a Turkish Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot.
We, Hüseyin Akansoy and Petros Souppouris, are among the most tragic victims of the Cyprus conflict. During the ethnic conflicts and the war, dozens of civilians from our families, especially small children and the elderly, were killed or went missing.
Despite this, we have never succumbed to hatred or hostility. We have not made distinctions among the victims of the two communities. By understanding each other’s pain, we embraced one another and have struggled and continue to struggle together for peace, friendship, and reconciliation in our country, Cyprus. With other friends who have faced similar tragedies from both communities of the island, we jointly founded in 2006 our organization “Together We Can,” the Bi-communal Association of Relatives of Missing Persons and Victims of Conflict and War 1963–1974.
Our efforts to resist enmity and to promote friendship without distinguishing between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were recognized by the European Parliament, which honored us with the European Citizens’ Award in 2012. We are grateful for this recognition.
This recognition is very important in our ongoing efforts for peace because we believe that the European Union is a Union founded on the values of respect for human dignity, equality, and human rights.
We also believe that the European Union can help us in our country’s search for peace and can contribute to Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots living together peacefully.
However, we have recently become aware of a development that saddened us and which goes completely against the fundamentals of inclusive truth. We saw that in the 2026 budget of the European Parliament, funds have been allocated for a memorial to be placed in the Parliament building. This memorial, as a result of an initiative by the Cypriot Members of the European Parliament, is intended only for the Greek Cypriot victims of 1974.
Yet, it is historically and morally inconceivable to believe that only one community suffered on this island and to erase the pain of the families of Turkish Cypriot missing persons. The anguish and pain have their roots even before 1974. And even in 1974, crimes of unspeakable brutality were committed also against Turkish Cypriots. The politicization of a humanitarian issue only makes efforts to heal this wound even more difficult.
This is not what we expect from the European Union, which symbolizes peace, friendship, and cooperation.
With this letter, we kindly ask that this mistake be corrected as soon as possible. If there is to be a memorial in the European Parliament building, it should be dedicated to all the victims of the Cyprus tragedy.
Respectfully,
Hüseyin Akansoy and Petros Souppouris"