`Investigation into the murder of Kavazoghlu and Mishaoulis was stopped from UN Headquarters in New York…`

`Investigation into the murder of Kavazoghlu and Mishaoulis was stopped from UN Headquarters in New York…`

Sevgul Uludag

caramel_cy@yahoo.com

Tel: 00 357 99 966518
00 90 542 853 8436

For the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of Dervish Ali Kavazoghlu and Costas Mishaoulis, on my FACEBOOK page, I share an article I had written years ago, on the 7th of April 2001. The response I get from one of my FACEBOOK friends from Sweden surprises me…
Tommy was in the Swedish contingent of the UNFICYP in 1964-1965 in Famagusta and he remembers the assassination of Kavazoghlu and Mishaoulis… But what is surprising for me is what he writes… He says, `Sevgul, I remember this because it was our unit who handled the investigation… I was not close to the investigation, but I remember that the investigator talked about possible motives. As I remember, both of the victims were Left wings and because of that, I think both sides could find reasons to kill them. There was never a result of this investigation, perhaps because the UN New York said stop. It`s up to anyone to wonder over who committed these murders. Sevgul, thank you. I have just read your article. So it`s clear that it was Kavazoghlu´s friends who committed the crime and that Mishaoulis just was at the wrong place. Have I understood this correct? As I told you, I got the information from one of the investigator s that there was an order from
Headquarters in New York to immediately cut off. Did TMT have that power to link it in that way?`
I write back to Tommy to say `At the very top I believe that the `mastermind` was the same to split the country playing one against the other so no surprise that the United Nations New York Headquarters would give such an order...`
Then I write to Tommy to see if he remembers anything more and he writes back to me this e-mail:
`Hi Sevgul,
I have read your article about the assassinations of Kavazoghlu and Kostas Mishaoulis and as I understand from the article, it was committed, or planned, by members of TMT in the Louroujina area. During our first month in Cyprus, May 1964, we made several escort missions to this village from Nicosia.
All this happened years ago, 50 to be more exact, and memories have that bad quality that they fade out by years. In UNFICYP Civilian Police, I was in that group in Famagusta which was responsible for village patrols, escorts and road checkpoints. I was too young to be involved in real investigations. But one of my best friends, Kurt Mellbris, became a part of this group who was ordered to investigate this murder on Larnaca Road near Koshi on April 11th 1965. I don`t remember who the others were or if there were policemen from other countries as well. Unfortunately, Kurt is no longer with us.
Anyhow, in the beginning of the investigation, there was an information, saying that the murderers travelled in a white car, an older (also in 1964) Singer, with a short flagpole on the radiator cap. From where this information came, I have no idea, but that was what I heard from Kurt about the murders. It was now very close to date when I should return to Sweden (April 29th). At that time I knew a Lebanese girl, working at Pendayia Hospital and one day (in the second half of April), she had come to Famagusta to visit me. Late in the evening, she should drive back to Pendayia. It wasn`t OK for me to let her drive by herself across the island in darkness, so I offered me to go with her to Pendayia, return to Famagusta in her car and then meet her in Nicosia next afternoon. So we did and some hours after midnight, I was on my way back to Famagusta. I used the straight main road.
Now, I can`t mention exact where, maybe at a junction on the highway, halfway between Nicosia and Famagusta, maybe close to the village of Kouklia, but suddenly I noticed a red light, wawing up and down some hundreds meters in front of me. I didn`t feel well because I hadn`t got any permission to leave Famagusta at this time and if it was the GC Police, I`m quite sure they would report it to my commander. Not good, even if I should leave Cyprus very soon after and that I had had a good reason to make this trip. When I came very close, I noticed that there were four or five civilians on the road and close to the road bank, I saw a white car, a Singer, with just such a flagpole on the filler cap. At that age, I normally wasn`t afraid of many things, but now, when I saw that car, I became afraid on the upper scale. I felt a compact coldness inside me, and my first thought was to speed up and try to pass them. But they stood in such a way that it had been
impossible to pass them without to hit any of them and if they were those who I suspected they were, and armed, I hadn`t had a chance. So I stopped. Four or five men, a bit older than me and well dressed. They seemed to be well fitted, athletic, and my first impression was, that they were soldiers, or maybe policemen. One of them seemed to be the leader and he came up to my front door. He asked kindly if I had a working jack because they had got a flat tyre. I had such a tool and when the rest of them changed the wheel, I and the leader talked about different things. He asked me what nationality I was, how Sweden was to live in and if I had liked my staying in the Cyprus and so on. We spoke just in English, so I don`t know if he was a GC or a TC. I didn`t see any arms or weapons. Suddenly, he asked me if Kurt is a Swedish name. A big bell rang in my head – a white Singer and a question if Kurt, one of the investigator of the murders, is a Swedish
name. I don`t lie when I say that I for a short moment saw myself lying in the ditch. I answered, that as far as I knew, Kurt is a German name, which it also is. "But there are Swedes with that name too, aren`t there?" At the same moment, one of the others came back with the jack. "OK, Thank you, have a nice trip back to Famagusta", the leader said and shook my hand.
On the rest of the trip back to Famagusta this night, thousands of thoughts drove through my head. How should I be able to explain that I had been at that highway in the middle of the night without permission from my superiors. But we can say that I was saved by the bell, because short after I was informed that the investigation had been ordered to be ended. Exactly when this order came, I don`t know, but I was informed just one or two days after my illegal night trip. And then there were no need for me to tell anyone about it. Not even that Lebanese girl.
I still don`t know if this white Singer with the flagpole which I saw on the Famagusta Road, was the same car as the information to the investigator talked about. Maybe there were lots of them in the Cyprus. I don`t know if the men I met were GC or TC, but I have through the years been of that apprehension that they were GC, maybe Yiorghadjis men, because of the place where I met them. I still don`t think that TMT had that power to, through UN Headquarters to stop such an investigation.
Sevgul, I don`t know if UNFICYP Civilian Police still serves in the Cyprus. If so, maybe they have filed even older investigations. I`m quite sure, the investigators from 1964 must have made lots of notes. If they were ordered to destroy them after that the investigation was stopped, I don`t know.
It`s 50 years since this happened, but that night on the Famagusta Road, I don`t forget. Of course, if the investigation hadn`t been stopped at that time it was, I had shared my observations with the investigators and taken the punishment for my non-permissioned trip that night.
Kindly regards
Tommy`
The persons who had killed Kavazoghlu and Mishaoulis in fact were not from TMT but were opponents of TMT in Louroudjina – they were meeting Kavazoghlu and distributing brochures in Turkish of AKEL. According to my investigation they were caught with the brochures in the village and forced by TMT to set up an ambush to kill Kavazoghlu – either they would die or Kavazoghlu would be killed. So they chose to help assassinate Kavazoghlu and Mishaoulis who happened to be with him. According to the villagers a red or green car was used plus another car… A shepherd seeing the car and hearing gun shots had gone running to Louroudjina to report this to the Turkish Cypriot police. They told him to shut up and mind his own business.
After Tommy's letter, I investigated the white car, the Singer he is mentioning in his letter. According to some villagers, this car had belonged to some Greek Cypriots who had been kidnapped by some Turkish Cypriots and although the Greek Cypriots were set free later on, they did not give back the car and the commander of the village was using this car in and around Louroudjina… Others told me that this car, the white Singer used to be used by TMT and one of the famous snipers of TMT had been driving it in Nicosia – I am not sure which one is true… We are talking about 50 years ago, half a century to be exact…
What's important for me is if it is true, why the UN Headquarters in New York had decided to stop the investigation about Mishaoulis and Kavazoghlu… I have contacted the UNFICYP Commander in Cyprus, Major General Kristin Lund and wrote to her to see if they can contribute to this issue with the information they must have in their files from 50 years back… Perhaps some of my readers who know more details can share it with us, like Tommy did… I want to thank Tommy from Sweden for sharing this vital piece of information and invite my readers to do the same if they know any more details…

3.5.2015

Photo: Children laying flowers on the grave of Kavazoghlou...

(*) Article published in the POLITIS newspaper on the 17th of May 2015, Sunday.

Finding the `missing` of Polis…

Finding the `missing` of Polis…

Sevgul Uludag

caramel_cy@yahoo.com

Tel: 00 357 99 966518
00 90 542 853 8436

Good news comes and finds me: The remains of the fourth `missing` Turkish Cypriot from Polis have been found in the place we had shown together with an old witness to the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee… We had gone to Polis on the 21st of October 2013 with an old witness who had come from London for holidays and the relative of a `missing person` from Polis had helped me to find him: He knew where some `missing` Turkish Cypriots had been buried…
It all came about quite accidentally, so to say… We had gone to Nikita village to look at a possible burial site and the person who was the owner of the house had been from Makunda… We had gone together with the officials of the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee and there, the Assistant of the Greek Cypriot Member of the Committee, Xenophon Kallis had asked the guy from Makunda whether he had any information about those Turkish Cypriots' whereabouts who had been killed in the war in 1974 in Polis. The old man had said he knew nothing about it. The Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee had been excavating some places for these `missing` persons for over a year without any results…
When Kallis and the old man from Makunda were conversing I remembered Unay and Hasan Pasha from Polis… Unay's father, Ahmet Ethem Ibrahim has been `missing` from Polis since August 1964 and I had gone to their house in Morphou to interview them for my book `Oysters with the missing pearls`… Ahmet Ethem Ibrahim had gone away in his blue Morris van towards Paphos and no one ever saw him again: It was 21st of August 1964… After some time Unay Hanim would see her father's car painted in the colours of camouflage and was being used by some Greek Cypriot soldiers… She would report this immediately to the UN but nothing happened…
I thought of calling and asking her about what Kallis was enquiring about: The `missing persons` from 1974 from Polis. Unay's husband Hasan had already spoken to me about those killed in Polis in 1974.
So I called her and she was very eager to help… She told me that the person who had buried some of these `missing` from 1974 was in fact on holidays in Cyprus from London. He was someone from Polis who lived in London. Unay Hanim would find me his phone and I would call the old Turkish Cypriot, Mr. Shevket Rado and ask for his help… I ask him to come with us to Polis and show us where the burial sites are. Despite his old age, problems of health, problems with his leg and the fact that he has to go to dialysis three times a week, he accepts quite willingly to help out voluntarily.
On 21st of October 2013 Monday morning we go to Polis together with Shevket Rado and the officials of the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee: Xenophon Kallis, Okan Oktay, Murat Soysal and one of the Greek Cypriot archaeologists. My husband gets up early and prepares wonderful sandwiches for us to eat at Polis since we need to be back in Nicosia early afternoon and would not have time to stop and eat.
We go to Polis. We go to the old cemetery of the Turkish Cypriots where a monument for the only `missing` Member of Parliament, Cengiz Ratip and `missing` teacher Turgut Sitki has been erected. Cengiz Ratip and Turgut Sitki are `missing` from Polis since 14th of February 1964. Despite all the efforts their remains have still not been found.
The old man, Shevket Rado takes us behind the monument at the cemetery.
Mr. Shevket Rado had been living in London since 1963 and was on holiday in Polis in 1974 when the war broke out. He would become a prisoner of war together with other Turkish Cypriots of Polis. One day some Greek Cypriots would come to the place where they had been kept as prisoners of war and would choose five of the strongest Turkish Cypriots – among them was Mr. Shevket as well. The Greek Cypriots took them to bury the three Turkish Cypriots killed in the war. Without absolutely any hesitation Mr. Shevket shows exactly where they had buried the three `missing` Turkish Cypriots. In a cavity of around one and a half to two meters they had buried Mehmet Chatallo, Ahmet Beyaz and Ayshe Ramadan. `You will find half a skeleton in the grave, we did not remove that, there was his head, arm and half of his body – this was an old skeleton from the old cemetery but when you dig, this might come out as well – let it not confuse you…` he explains to the
archaeologists.
I ask him to show us the possible burial site of the fourth `missing person` from 1974, Kemal Ismail. Hasan Pasha, the husband of Unay Pasha had told me the story of Kemal Ismail, that he had committed suicide at his military post - `If I see the Greek Cypriots coming, I will commit suicide` he had been saying and Hasan Pasha had warned his relatives about this… He too is `missing`… Mr. Shevket Rado takes us to the new cemetery of Turkish Cypriots of Polis - he leads the way and tells us that Kemal Ismail was buried in this cemetery… We thank him and go back to Nicosia…
Soon after the archaeologists start digging the spot behind the monument in the old cemetery of Polis and find the remains of the three `missing` Turkish Cypriots – just as Mr. Shevket explained, they also find half a skeleton…
Then news comes last week that the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee excavation team has found the fourth `missing person` in the new cemetery where Mr. Shevket had shown us the possible burial site.
Four more families will take back the remains of their loved ones and I thank from my heart Mr. Shevket Rado who came and showed us the burial sites despite his old age and illnesses, Ms. Unay Pasha and her husband for helping to find Mr. Shevket and the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee officials for exhuming these sites…
With the totally voluntary, humanitarian work, we have managed to find the remains of four more `missing` Turkish Cypriots… Unay Pasha, despite her own `missing` father helped to find other `missing persons`…
Despite grave difficulties with his health, Mr. Shevket helped quite willingly…
With people like them Cyprus has hope for the future – they are people who are not greedy and calculating like so many others – they have pure human hearts who are eager to help without expecting absolutely nothing in return…
The only thing that makes me sad is that despite her incredible humanity, we have not been able to give any news to Unay Pasha about her father Ahmet Ethem Ibrahim who has been `missing` from Polis for the past 51 years!
If anyone knows of his possible burial site, please call me with or without your name on my CYTA mobile: 99 966518.
Let's continue to work for humanity to prosper on this island… Let's continue to work for humanity not greed, for compassion and mercy to take root on this soil…

11.4.2015

Photo: With Shevket Rado at Polis...

(*) Article published in the POLITIS newspaper on the 10th of May 2015, Sunday.

The story of Kyriacou Frangou who did not want to leave her chicks…

The story of Kyriacou Frangou who did not want to leave her chicks…

Sevgul Uludag

caramel_cy@yahoo.com

Tel: 00 357 99 966518
00 90 542 853 8436

One day I receive a message from Christina Frangou:
`Dear Sevgul,
I was given your name from our mutual friend, Andreas Maras. I have already known about you and the award you were given and consider you as a brave and special compatriot. The reason I am writing to you is that I think you can help me to find some compatriots from the Turkish Cypriot community.
Here is my story: My aunt Kyriakou Frangou, resident of Nea Smyrni, Ougou Foskolou (Hougo Foskolo) Street, 27, a street very close to the Medieval Walls of Famagusta and the church of Saint Georgios Xorinos, was killed by Turkish soldiers on the 16th of August 1974. When the night and the dark came, her Turkish Cypriot friends and neighbours dug a grave in the front yard of her house and buried her. Then they found a way and informed her brother and her nephews about her. Our family will be very honoured if some of these people came to her funeral on the 21st of March here in Limassol at the cemetery of Sfalagiotissa. The only information I have are two names: Vedia Ismail and Salih, a black Turkish Cypriot who was a policeman. Certainly we will also be very honoured if you also come to my aunt's funeral. Looking forward to speaking to you soon…
Christina Frangou.`
I write back to her after trying to find the people she was mentioning:
`Dear Christina,
A friend from Famagusta checked and Vedia Ismail is no longer alive… She also went to the house of Mr. Salih but no one was at home. She will try again when she goes to Famagusta… If you send me a few lines about your aunt and a photo of her, I would like to write a few lines about her and her friendship in Famagusta…`
Christina also writes on Facebook, trying to locate her auntie's friends:
`Next Saturday, on the 21st of March at 10 o'clock in the morning, it's the funeral of my late aunt Kyriakou Frangou who was killed by Turkish soldiers during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. She was buried in the yard of her house by her Turkish Cypriot friends and neighbours where she stayed until February 2011. The current owner of her house always planted fresh flowers on her grave just to show his respect and to honour her. She was unearthed and identified through DNA method. Forty years have passed since then but there may be Turkish Cypriots among her friends who are still alive. If there was a chance to find them and invite them just to thank them for what they did that terrible day, it would be the best honour to her memory.`
Finally we can't find the Turkish Cypriot friends of Kyriakou Frangou but as promised, Christina sends me the story of her aunt:
`Kyriakou Frangou was born in Ayia Triada Yialousas in 1909… When she was still very young, she had moved to Varoshia where she started working in the orange orchards of the area Nea Smyrni, not far from the walls of Famagusta… She watered and took care of orange trees… She loved the trees, the flowers and birds… She loved all the people who were close to her… She did not distinguish whether a neighbour was Turkish or Greek Cypriot, she used to say that every human being was a child of God and she loved and helped her fellow people just the same…
There, she made her home, in a semi-detached house next to her brother's house…
She never got married so she loved any child, relatives or not, the same…
That terrible day, when the Turkish army invaded Famagusta and when everybody were leaving their homes to save their lives, she didn't leave.
She told her brother and the other relatives that she couldn't leave her house and her birds… She had chicken and small chicks…
When one cousin asked her to come with him to his house, she said:
`But what about my babies? I cannot leave my babies…`
The `babies` were the little chicks, the poulli as we say it…
Before the soldiers got near her house, her Turkish Cypriot friends were begging her to hide her in their homes but she did not accept their offer lest the soldiers found her there and killed them as well. She was killed in her front yard of her house…
When the night and the dark came, her neighbours buried her in her yard, next to her jasmine which so much she loved… When we visited her house in 2009, the new owner showed us a flower bed full of beautiful flowers… That's where she was buried…
She was unearthed in February 2011 and after all the formalities had been done, we buried her officially and according to her religion on the 21st March 2015.
Name: Kyriakou Frangou
Place of birth: Ayia Triada Yialousas
Place of death: Nea Smyrni Famagusta
Date of death: August 1974
Cause of death:
1. Trauma from bullet shot on the chest
2. Trauma from bullet shot on temple
3. Trauma from a bullet on the legs.
Reason of death:
CIVIL WAR CAUSED BY THOSE WHO DOMINATE THE PEOPLES OF THE WHOLE PLANET AND ROB THEIR FORTUNES AND THEIR FORTUNE.
The above information has been taken from the death certificate… `
I call Christina to tell me more and this takes her back to her memories of her childhood with her aunt…
When her aunt was taking her to the orange orchards at the age of four or five…
Her aunt would work and she would play…
`She told me to listen to birds… She was teaching me the different sounds of birds…
She loved animals…
In those years people couldn't be considered `animal friendly` - they loved animals if they gave them food… But my aunt was very kind to these animals… She would always tell me `They are also creatures of God…`
Now that I speak to you about these things, I realize that the character I formed was also her work… She taught me things about nature…
Since she didn't have children and she loved children, she was always offering things… She took care of all of us… She was a person who wanted to offer…
What she loved most was jasmine…`
The woman from Ayia Triada who spent her life gardening in the orange orchards of Varosha, the woman who loved nature, the woman who did not leave her house because she had small chicks and she did not want to leave behind was just another of the innocent victims of war… She now rests in Limassol, in the cemetery of Sfalagiotissa…
I had been there the day they were beginning the exhumations in the front yard of her house…
I am so happy that Christina Frangou contacted me – next time I go to Limassol, I will meet Christina and perhaps she can take me to her aunt's grave where I can lay some flowers, perhaps jasmine…
She is tragically gone but her respect and love for nature lives in Christina and in all the people that she touched with her love and care…
May you rest in peace Kyriacou Frangou… The friendship you planted will live through the friendship we have now with Christina… Nothing goes to `waste` on this earth, nothing that is good, nothing that is created with love and care… All the good things always find a way to continue to grow and bring more love to others…

4.4.2015

Photo: Kyriacou Frangou

(*) Article published in the POLITIS newspaper on the 3rd of May, 2015 – Sunday.