Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Written Evidence


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
YearTons% Value
(US$)
Tons %Value
(US$)
200117,8563,672,00050,9142,654,000
200223,848+33.6 * 5,528,00050,950+0.07% 2,570,000
200338,222+60.3 11,392,00085,268+67.4% 4,366,000
2004 (until July)42,335 +10.817,979,000106,200 +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:
YearApplication%
2000228
2001309+35.5
2002591+91.3
2003955+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,

    —  in 2002, 290,000 s.m.

    —  in 2003, 613,000 s.m.

    —  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


 
previous page contents

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

© Parliamentary copyright 2005
Prepared 22 February 2005