Commission on missing persons to restart in Abkhazia

As reported today at the events dated to the International Day of Missing Persons by Leonid Lakerbaya, first vice-premier of the republic, the government of Abkhazia will resume the work of the commission on missing persons.

According to his story, the commission was out of operation within the last five years. "There is a proposal to restart its work under the Department for Emergencies of the Republic of Abkhazia," Mr Lakerbaya said.

In her turn, Guli Kichba, chair of the movement "Mothers of Abkhazia for Peace and Social Justice", believes that the government should revise its attitude to the parents of the fighters who disappeared in the war with Georgia in 1992-1993. She believes that so far, while their parents are alive, they should give their DNA assays.

According to Leonid Lakerbaya, the government is attentively studying all the applications lodged by the movement "Mothers of Abkhazia for Peace and Social Justice".

He thanked the Mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Abkhazia for active assistance in resuming the activity under the programme of missing persons: "I hope that with the help of the ICRC we'll make DNA analyses of those buried in the places that we know."

He has noted that ten years ago the DNA assay issue was painfully perceived; and close relatives hoped otherwise to find their missing people. Today mothers of missing soldiers have agreed to give blood samples for DNA analysis.