impede the return of refugees to their homes and property. By the end of 1975, the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots living in areas controlled by the legitimate government were forced to leave their homes and move, owing to Turkey's coercive policy, to the Turkishoccupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus. In full accordance with Turkey's stated goal of partition and national segregation on the island, on 15 November 1983, the occupying regime unilaterally declared the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", an act which was condemned by the international community as legally invalid. In particular, the United Nations Security Council, in resolution 541 (1983), rebuked this declaration, declared it legally invalid, and called for its reversal. The Security Council called on all states to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus and not to recognise any Cypriot state other than the Republic of Cyprus. Seriously concerned by the further separatist actions in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus, in violation of resolution 541 (1983), such as the so-called exchange of ambassadors between Turkey and the legally invalid entity and the planned conduct of a "constitutional referendum" and "elections", as well as the threats of illegal settlement of Varosha and other actions aimed at further consolidating the division of Cyprus the Security Council adopted resolution 550 (1984) reaffirming resolution 541 (1983) and reiterated its call on all states not to recognise the entity established by the separatist actions and at the same time called on them not to facilitate or in any way assist the separatist entity. At the same time, the Security Council described as unacceptable the attempts for the settlement of any part of Varosha by any persons other than its legal residents and called for the transfer of the area under the United Nations administration. From a humanitarian point of view, the most tragic consequence of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the summer of 1974 is the missing persons. During and after the Turkish invasion, thousands of Greek Cypriots were arrested and held in concentration camps in Cyprus by Turkish soldiers and paramilitaries, operating under the Turkish army. Also, more than 2,000 prisoners of war had been illegally transferred and held in prisons in Turkey. Some of them are still missing today. Hundreds of other Greek Cypriots, both soldiers and civilians (including seniors, women, and children) have disappeared in Turkish-occupied areas and their fate is still unknown. In all these cases there are well-documented testimonies that the missing persons were last seen alive at the hands of the Turkish army or paramilitary groups, acting under the direction and responsibility of the Turkish occupying forces. According to the latest data issued by the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) there are currently 758 Greek Cypriots that are still missing, the whereabouts of whom have yet to be determined. The Cyprus Question| A brief Introduction 30
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