Letter to the Clerk of the Committee from
the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, 26 January 2005
Further to our previous communication I take
the liberty of enclosing an Aide Memoire regarding the very worrying
phenomenon of illegal exploitation of properties taking place
in the occupied areas of Cyprus, an issue that seems not to have
been given the necessary attention in the course of the enquiry.
Regrettably, recent indisputable data show an
unprecedented increase in the unlawful development of Greek Cypriot
property in the occupied areas of Cyprus, which alarmingly involves
foreign investors, mainly British.
It should be stressed that foreign nationals
proceeding to such illegal transactions entail responsibility
according to a recent decision of a district Court of the Republic
of Cyprus. According to this decision, the accused, a British
couple, was liable to compensation to the lawful owner and was
ordered to demolish the premises erected on the property in question.
It is also well known that the right of property
and ownership of the Greek Cypriots in the occupied part of Cyprus
has been recognised by the European Court of Human Rights in the
case of Loizidou v. Turkey.
The illegal exploitation of usurped Greek Cypriot
property not only prejudices the execution of Court decisions
but poses an additional obstacle for any efforts for the solution
of the Cyprus' problem, of which the property issue is one of
the core parameters.
Having noted the above, which I hope will be
of interest to the members of the Committee, I remain at your
disposal for any further information
HE Petros Eftychiou
High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus
26 January 2005
AIDE MEMOIRE
— In 1974 less than one-fifth of the
currently Turkish-occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus
was owned by persons other than members of the Greek Cypriot community
and the Cypriot state.
— Following the Turkish invasion of
1974, the forced eviction of approximately 170,000 Greek Cypriots
from their ancestral homes, and the illegal occupation of 36.4%
of the Republic of Cyprus' territory, the Turkish occupation regime
placed the properties of dispossessed owners at the disposal of
its own "authorities", the Turkish military, and ordinary
Turkish Cypriots. After the commencement of Turkey's organised
colonization of occupied Cyprus in late 1974 many such properties
were handed over to Turkish mainland settlers. The distribution
of properties was also used by the Turkish Cypriot leadership
to "buy off" political influence both within and without
the Turkish Cypriot community.
— The year 2002 witnessed the confluence
of two phenomena, which generated an unprecedented, unethical
and illegal "sales" and construction boom in the occupied
territories, especially in Kyrenia District.
At one level, the Turkish occupation
regime allowed the current possessors of occupied properties to
"transfer" such properties to third parties at large,
hence facilitating the rise of an unprecedented "property
market" in an area which combined two "fatal" characteristics:
natural beauty and cheap prices.
At another level, the UN Secretary-General
submitted his Plan for the Comprehensive Settlement of the Cyprus
Problem ("the Annan Plan"). In unacceptably restricting
the right to restitution of the lawful property owners and in
containing provisions which de facto encouraged unlawful
investments in occupied properties, the Plan had one critical
implication: specifically, despite its rejection by the people
of Cyprus on 24 April 2004, the Plan (which, given its rejection,
does not have any legal standing whatsoever) has, in certain circles,
cultivated the impression that unlawful investments in occupied
properties by Turkish Cypriots, Turks, and others (eg Britons,
Germans, Israelis etc.) will be safeguarded even after a solution
of the Cyprus Problem, hence removing a psychological barrier
to further investments of this sort.
At present the occupied territories
are populated, inter alia, by:
— about 160,000 Turkish mainland settlers[194]
— about 87,600 Turkish Cypriots (2001
estimate—the number has, in all probability, since decreased)
(NB: in 1974 Turkish Cypriots numbered around 118,000) and
— more than 35,000 Turkish troops.
This means that in the occupied
territories now there are more than two Turks for every Turkish
Cypriot.
— In situ inspections, satellite images,
and the following indicative facts figures, and statements, which
have come under the public spotlight, attest to the large volume
of "sales" and the construction boom sweeping and occupied
territories.
1. Imports of construction materials into
the occupied territories.
| Iron
| | Cement
|
| Year | Tons | %
| Value
(US$) | Tons |
% | Value
(US$) |
| 2001 | 17,856 | —
| 3,672,000 | 50,914 | —
| 2,654,000 |
| 2002 | 23,848 | +33.6 *
| 5,528,000 | 50,950 | +0.07%
| 2,570,000 |
| 2003 | 38,222 | +60.3
| 11,392,000 | 85,268 | +67.4%
| 4,366,000 |
| 2004 (until July) | 42,335 |
+10.8 | 17,979,000 | 106,200
| +24.5% | 5,489,000 |
| | |
| | | |
* Denotes the increase over the previous year
2. Applications lodged with the Turkish occupation regime
by foreign nationals for the "purchase" of immovable
properties in the occupied territories:
| Year | Application | %
|
| 2000 | 228 | —
|
| 2001 | 309 | +35.5
|
| 2002 | 591 | +91.3
|
| 2003 | 955 | +61.6
|
| 2004 (until 8-9-04) | 1,701 *
| +78.1 |
| | |
* N.B.: The so-called "minister of interior" of
the "turkish republic of northern Cyprus" ("trnC"),
Mr Ozkan Murat, predicted that by the end of 2004 the number of
applications for the said year will match the total number of
applications for ALL previous years taken together!
3. Referring to the intense land development being observed
in the occupied territories since 2002, the Republic of Turkey's
Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister, Mr Abdullatif Sener
stated, inter alia, that:
— in 2001 foreigners "purchased"
63,000 square meters ("s.m.") of land,
— and, during the first six months of 2004, 116,000
s.m.
Mr Sener admitted that Greek Cypriot properties are involved
in the abovementioned transactions.
4. The so-called "finance minister" of the
"trnC", Mr Ahmet Uzim, admitted that the property provisions
of the Annan Plan gave investors the incentive to build on Greek
Cypriot properties and observed that construction activities will
make the return of Greek Cypriots to the northern part of Cyprus
more difficult.
5. Turkish Cypriot politician, Mr Izzet Izcan, stated
that in the period April-September 2004 the value of property
"sales" in the occupied territories reached $2 billion.
6. Noting that the sale of residences in the occupied
territories had reached 10,000 the former chairman of the Turkish
Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, Mr Eren Ertanin, stated that over
the past two years the prices of immovable properties there have
doubled.
7. The chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber
of Industry, Mr Salih Tunar, stated that the on-going construction
of four large hotels in the vicinity of the occupied Greek Cypriot
village of Vokolidha will significantly increase the existing
number of "trnC" tourist beds.
— Legal and practical implications flowing from
-the unlawful exploitation of properties in the occupied territories:
1. Aggravation of the on-going violation of the locally[195]
and internationally[196]
recognized home and property rights of the lawful owners in a
manner that could potentially engage the criminal and civil responsibility
of all persons who contribute to the unlawful exploitation by
supplying goods, services and capital to the actual trespassers.
Additionally, the boom engages Turkey's own international legal
responsibility since no construction can take place without the
license of its subordinate local administration in the Turkish-occupied
north.
2. Perpetuation of the illegal faits accomplis
engendered by the Turkish occupation, and potential prejudicing—on
a daily basis—of a just and international law conforming
solution of the Cyprus problem that will respect the twin freedoms
of establishment and property ownership/possession across the
island.
3. Creation of conditions which encourage the transfer
of laborers from Turkey who end up settling down and colonizing
the occupied territories, thus expanding the unlawful Turkish
settlement already in full swing there. It is estimated that approximately
40,000 Turks have made their way to the Turkish-occupied north
in 2004 so as to engage in construction-related employment.
4. Destruction of the natural environment and of archaeological
sites to make room for unbridled development, wherein buildings
are built hastily without necessarily meeting structural safety
standards.
5. Construction upon graves reportedly containing the
remains of Greek Cypriot missing persons murdered during the Turkish
invasion of 1974, thus desecrating their memory and complicating
efforts to identify and return their remains to their loved ones
for proper burial.
— In light of the above, the Republic of Cyprus
demands that the Republic of Turkey—now set to open negotiations
for accession to the EU on 03.10.2005—immediately
introduce, in the occupied areas, a moratorium on all construction
activities (possibly excepting the ordinary maintenance of already
finished structures and/or the demolition of irredeemably hazardous
structures) not consented to by the lawful property owners.
Furthermore, and in relation to the point just made, the
Republic of Cyprus demands that the Republic of Turkey immediately
assent to the conduct as soon as possible, in the occupied
areas, of an internationally supervised census, which will comprehensively
profile, inter alia, the current usage of immovable properties
which in 1974 belonged (i) to persons who were dispossessed of
the said properties because of the events of 1963-64, and whose
dispossession continued after the events of 1974, and (ii) to
persons who were dispossessed of the said properties because of
the events of 1974.
<mo197>Cf Articles 16 (right to home) and 23 (right to property)
of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus.<mo108>Cf.,
for instance, Article 8 (right to home) and Article 1-Protocol
1 (right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions) of the European
Convention on Human Rights in conjunction with the Judgments of
the European Courts of Human Rights in Loizidou v. Turkey (1995,
1996, 1998), Cyprus v. Turkey (2001), Demadees v. Turkey (2003)
and Eugenia Michaelidou Developments Ltd and Michael Tymvious
v. Turkey (2003), which, inter alia 1Confirm that the
owners' title to immovable properties of which they were dispossed
through Turkey's 1974 invasion and on-going occupation remains
as valid as ever and that Turkey bears international responsibility
for the continuing violation of the home/property rights of the
said persons.
194
The figure includes the most recent 40,000-strong wave of Turkish
nationals estimated to have made their way to the Turkish-occupied
north in 2004 so as to engage in construction-related employment. Back
195
Cf Articles 16 (right to home) and 23 (right to property) of the
Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. Back
196
Cf., for instance, Article 8 (right to home) and Article 1-Protocol
1 (right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions) of the European
Convention on Human Rights in conjunction with the Judgments of
the European Courts of Human Rights in Loizidou v. Turkey (1995,
1996, 1998), Cyprus v. Turkey (2001), Demadees v. Turkey (2003)
and Eugenia Michaelidou Developments Ltd and Michael Tymvious
v. Turkey (2003), which, inter alia Confirm that the owners' title
to immovable properties of which they were dispossed through Turkey's
1974 invasion and on-going occupation remains as valid as ever
and that Turkey bears international responsibility for the continuing
violation of the home/property rights of the said persons. Back
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