15 identified Turkish Cypriots to be buried at Atlılar Martyrs’ Cemetery

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

ATLILAR, CYPRUS — Fifteen Turkish Cypriots whose remains were identified following excavations at Atlılar Martyrs’ Cemetery will be buried there on Sept. 7 in a ceremony scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

The ceremony had originally been planned for Sept. 1 but was postponed following a deadly ferry accident off Kyrenia, according to a statement by Asu Muhtaroğlu, chair of the National Days Celebration Central Committee.

The identities were established after work carried out by the Committee on Missing Persons, known by its Turkish abbreviation KŞK, on remains recovered during excavations at the cemetery between July 24, 2023, and April 23, 2024.

Burial ceremony postponed to Sept. 7

According to Haber Kıbrıs, citing Muhtaroğlu’s statement, the burial ceremony will now take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 7, at Atlılar Martyrs’ Cemetery.

Authorities had initially scheduled the ceremony for Tuesday, Sept. 1.

However, the program was changed after a ferry accident off the coast of Kyrenia resulted in fatalities. The statement said the accident was the reason for postponing the ceremony by six days.

The venue has not changed, and the 15 identified individuals will be laid to rest at Atlılar Martyrs’ Cemetery.

The announcement provides a new date for families and members of the public following the completion of the identification work.

Identifications followed excavations at Atlılar

The Committee on Missing Persons conducted excavations at Atlılar Martyrs’ Cemetery over a period of about nine months.

According to the information released, the fieldwork began on July 24, 2023, and continued until April 23, 2024.

Remains recovered during those excavations were subsequently examined as part of the identification process.

The work resulted in the identities of 15 Turkish Cypriots being established.

The source does not provide details about the specific scientific methods used in each identification, but states that the Committee on Missing Persons completed the identification process for all 15 individuals.

The planned burial ceremony represents the next stage following the excavation and identification work.

Names of the 15 identified individuals announced

The Committee on Missing Persons released the names and ages of those scheduled to be buried.

They were identified as:

Tülay Süleyman, 28; Hasan Süleyman, 10; Kemal Süleyman, 6; Okan Süleyman, 3; Gürhan Ali Çerkez, 12; Ayşe Hasan, 56; Narin Hasan, 16; Kıymet Hasan, 22; Betül Arnavut, 16 months; Mualla Ali Osman (Pipalı), 36; Gülden Ali Osman (Pipalı), 4; Özlem Ali Osman (Pipalı), 2; Seldem Ali Osman (Pipalı), 40 days old; Fatma Tahir, 46; and Emine Tahir, 22.

Several people on the list share family names, including members of the Süleyman and Ali Osman families.

The list also shows that the group includes adults, teenagers, young children and two infants.

Infants and young children are among those identified

A significant number of those whose identities were established were children.

The youngest was Seldem Ali Osman (Pipalı), who was 40 days old.

Betül Arnavut was 16 months old, while Özlem Ali Osman (Pipalı) was 2, Okan Süleyman was 3 and Gülden Ali Osman (Pipalı) was 4.

Kemal Süleyman was 6, Hasan Süleyman was 10 and Gürhan Ali Çerkez was 12. Narin Hasan was 16.

The presence of infants and children among the 15 makes the identification list particularly notable.

The adults identified ranged in age from 22 to 56, according to the information released by the Committee on Missing Persons.

Their remains will be buried together at the cemetery during the Sept. 7 ceremony.

Excavation work lasted from 2023 into 2024

The identification process followed a lengthy period of work at the cemetery.

Excavations began in July 2023 and continued into April 2024 before the subsequent examination and identification of the recovered remains.

The source material does not specify when each individual identification was completed or whether all identifications were finalized at the same time.

What has now been confirmed is that the process has been completed for 15 people and that a burial date has been set.

The announcement marks the transition from the investigative and identification phase to the formal burial ceremony.

The ceremony will take place at the same cemetery where the excavation work had previously been conducted.

Ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m.

Officials have set the ceremony for 10 a.m. on Sept. 7.

The announcement by the National Days Celebration Central Committee followed the decision to delay the event after the ferry disaster off Kyrenia.

No further change to the location was announced.

The ceremony will therefore bring together the remains of all 15 identified Turkish Cypriots at Atlılar Martyrs’ Cemetery after the Committee on Missing Persons completed its work.

The source refers to the 15 individuals as “martyrs,” terminology reflected in the official name of the cemetery and in the announcement concerning the burial.

For the families involved, the identification of the remains provides names to individuals recovered during the excavations and allows a formal burial to proceed.

The ceremony’s postponement does not alter the results of the identification process. According to the announced schedule, all 15 will be buried together on Monday, Sept. 7, beginning at 10 a.m.

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