Revelations in the Greek Cypriot media that another so-called Greek Cypriot missing person actually died on 24 July 1974 exposed the lies of the Greek Cypriot regime once again.
The DNA tests carried out in the Lakadamia cemetery revealed that Costas Menikou was buried in Lakadamia military cemetery in south Cyprus years ago.
Greek Cypriot regime, media and the Greek-Greek Cypriot lobbies in Britain and other countries, for years, used and still is using this humanitarian issue to achieve political gains and trying to get Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots condemned, have been using the so-called missing Greek Cypriots and their families as political pawns since 1974.
With the latest revelations, the Greek Cypriot media who used a picture of Costas Menikou to claim that he was a captive of Turkey, tried to cover up their deliberate misinformation by claiming that the picture used was someone who looked like Costas Menikou.
Fileleftheros, a Greek Cypriot newspaper reported that Costas Menikou, who was a sergeant in a Greek Cypriot commando unit, died on 24 July 1974 and was buried in the Lakadamia cemetery.
Cyprus Mail, taking extracts from Politis, another Greek Cypriot newspaper reported:
"POLITIS: 'When the grave talks'. As Costas Menikou's family is preparing a burial service for him in Melbourne, the paper said it had discovered that the Service for Missing Persons knew that he was dead and buried in a military cemetery in Nicosia years ago. They did not announce the fact to his family, who live Australia, and lived in hope that their long lost son might one day return from captivity."
Unlike the Greek Cypriot side, Turkish Cypriot side has never used the issue of the Turkish Cypriot missing to make any political gains. Their families admit that they were killed by the Greeks-Greek Cypriots long time ago. Their mothers, unlike the Greek Cypriot ones do not dress all in black carrying pictures and pretending that their sons are still alive. However we do not blame these people, after all they are lied to by their own political leaders, who actually caused the Cyprus tragedy.
Blame for the on going lies and the suffering it causes to the families of these people falls on the Greek Cypriot regime and their supporters in the EU, which unfortunately contains some British MPs and MEPs.
The right thing to do is, the Greek Cypriot side should tell their people that their loved ones died long time ago. Above all they should tell their own people and the rest of the world how many of these so-called Greek Cypriot missing was actually killed by the Greek soldiers and the Greek Cypriot terrorist during the coup against Makarios that took place on 15 July 1974 in the name of Greek desire for Enosis (union with Greece), the main cause of Cyprus problem.
Makarios himself, during his speech at the UN on 19 July 1974, a day before Turkey intervened, said that the casualties caused by the Greek Junta's coup were very high. Some European sources put this around 3000.