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The report also noted that UN Forces in Cyprus:

We are aware of the difficulties faced by Greek Cypriot communities living in the northern part of Cyprus who are enclaved as a result of the political situation on the island and the presence of Turkish troops in the northern part. This is an issue which will only be fully resolved by a comprehensive settlement to reunite the island. We will continue to engage with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to support progress towards a settlement.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the number of (a) Turkish nationals and (b) Turkish settlers living in northern Cyprus, apart from members of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [245170]

Caroline Flint: There are no UK Government estimates of the number of (a) Turkish nationals and (b) Turkish settlers living in northern Cyprus.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of the possible opening of the proposed crossing point at Kato Pyrgos/Kokkina/Erenköy/Limnitis/Yesilirmak; what representations he has made on the subject; what assessment he has made of the obstacles to the crossing point being opened; and if he will make a statement. [245172]

Caroline Flint: Confidence-building measures play an important role in building trust between communities and adding momentum to discussions. It is important that these are discussed and implemented by the two communities for the benefit of all Cypriots but that they should not distract from the process. I regularly express the UK’s support for such measures during my contacts with Cypriot Ministers and officials, and urge both sides to continue to look at already agreed, and new, measures and to publicise their benefits.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the level of civil society activity in northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [245173]

Caroline Flint: Although I have no detailed information it is clear that the level of civil society activity in northern Cyprus is increasing. It is important that civil society underpins the settlement process.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of levels of cross-green line contacts by civil society in Cyprus (a) overall, (b) by political parties, (c) by trade unions and (d) by young people; what steps he is taking to encourage such contacts; and if he will make a statement. [245180]

Caroline Flint: We do not have detailed figures. However, such contacts are increasing and have an important role in underpinning any settlement.


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Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the imprisonment of two young Turkish Cypriots for allegedly insulting the Turkish Cypriot leader on a Facebook group they had set up; and if he will make a statement. [245181]

Caroline Flint: The high commission are aware of reports in the press about the arrest of a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old appearing before the courts in relation to material published on Facebook. The reports claimed they were to be held in custody for seven days.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Turkish Cypriot authorities on the efforts of north Cyprus police to locate 160 members of the Facebook group on which the Turkish Cypriot leader was allegedly insulted. [245182]

Caroline Flint: I have no plans to make representations on this matter.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Turkish nationals have become citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [245191]

Caroline Flint: According to figures from the ‘interior ministry’ in northern Cyprus, 160 people have been naturalised since 2005 and done so by the decision of the ‘Council of Ministers’ in northern Cyprus. This excludes marriages.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the six chapters identified as the subjects for consideration by the leaders of the communities in Cyprus are; what process is being adopted for the consideration of each chapter; what progress is being made on consideration of each chapter; and if he will make a statement. [245193]

Caroline Flint: There are a number of issues which the negotiations could cover. Six working groups have discussed the following areas: governance and power sharing, EU matters, security and guarantees, territory, property and economic matters. The technical committees have discussed crime and criminal matters, economic and commercial matters, cultural heritage, crisis management, humanitarian and health matters and the environment. We are pleased that the two leaders continue to meet on a regular basis to discuss a comprehensive settlement. Thus far they have discussed matters of governance and power sharing.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the effectiveness of the Turkish Cypriot property commission in providing an adequate remedy; how many cases have been lodged by Greek Cypriots with the commission; how many such cases have been determined; how many of those determined cases have resulted in awards of (a) compensation and (b) restitution; whether the awards have been implemented in each of these cases; and if he will make a statement. [245195]


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Caroline Flint: According to media reports in July this year, the commission from its establishment in 2006 until June 2008, has paid €8,066,307 relating to 1,783,043 metres square of Greek Cypriot property.

In 2006, €2,817,088 compensation was paid, while €3,991,614 was paid in 2007.

729 applications by Greek Cypriots have been made to date of which 41 have been finalised; 35 by compensation, 3 by restitution and 2 by exchange of property. According to information released, one of the applications will have their property returned in the event of a solution.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the consequences of the European Court of Justice Advocate General's opinion in the Orams case; and if he will make a statement. [245196]

Caroline Flint: We are considering the Advocate-General's opinion (AGO) carefully, but the AGO is not binding on the Court. As this case is ongoing it would not be appropriate for us to comment further on any implications.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation by Turkey of the Arestes judgment in the European Court of Human Rights; and if he will make a statement. [245197]

Caroline Flint: On 7 December 2006, the European Court of Human Rights gave a judgment stating that Turkey must pay a just satisfaction award (damages plus legal costs and expenses) to the applicant. This has not yet been done and we urge Turkey to pay this award promptly.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the Republic of Cyprus's guardianship law in the light of the Sofi case; and if he will make a statement. [245198]

Caroline Flint: The Guardian of Turkish Properties, an authority of the government of the Republic of Cyprus, was set up as the caretaker of properties in the south belonging to Turkish Cypriots who were refugees due to the division of the island. According to the law the Guardian takes over the property until the Cyprus problem is resolved when it will be handed back to its legal owners in the state it had been received.

The European Court of Human Rights is due to examine the Sofi case. In the circumstances it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment.

Ultimately property issues are only going to be solved as part of a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the consequences of the European Court of Human Rights case of Varnavas v. Turkey; and if he will make a statement. [245199]

Caroline Flint: A Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights gave judgment in Varnavas and others v. Turkey (application nos. 16064/90, 16065/90, 16066/90, 16068/90, 16069/90, 16070/90, 16071/90, 16072/90 and
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16073/90) on 10 January 2008. That judgment is not final, since the case was referred to the Grand Chamber which held a hearing on 19 November 2008. The Grand Chamber has not yet delivered its judgment. In the circumstances it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the number of people who travelled across the green line from (a) north to south and (b) south to north in Cyprus, in (i) 2008 and (ii) each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [245217]

Caroline Flint: According to the annual reports on the Green Line Regulation:

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of trends in the number of mosques being built in northern Cyprus; what assessment he has made of the consequences of those trends for the prospects of settlement in Cyprus; what assessment he has made of the sources of funding for such building; and if he will make a statement. [245218]

Caroline Flint: We do not have any information on the number of mosques being built in north Cyprus or the sources of funding for such building.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the consequences of the decisions of UK Cyprus veterans to erect a memorial in Kyrenia (a) generally and (b) on relations between the communities on the island; and if he will make a statement. [245219]

Caroline Flint: The cemetery is not on UK territory, nor is it owned by the UK Government. It would be inappropriate, therefore, for us to comment on proposals to place memorials there.

Cyprus: EC Aid

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in disbursing the 259 million euro earmarked by the European Union for expenditure in northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [245049]

Caroline Flint: The European Union is providing €259 million of aid to the Turkish Cypriot community, to help bring them closer to Europe and so facilitate a settlement. As of October 2008, the projects contracted reaches a cumulative total of €60.8 million since inception, the total amount tendered reaches €119.5 million and the total paid €25.5 million. While implementation of the regulation has been slower than originally anticipated, the benefits are already being felt. The European
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Commission is responsible for administering the assistance. A programme team of Commission officials and contract agents was set up in 2006 to implement the programme as part of the Task Force Turkish Cypriot Community within DG Enlargement.

Ongoing projects include a successful programme of scholarships for Turkish Cypriot students and teachers to study and teach in EU universities, grant schemes for civil society and targeted support to farmers to upgrade their equipment. Full details are contained in the Commission’s most recent annual report on the implementation of the financial aid package. We agree with their conclusion that the current settlement negotiations

and look forward to rapid implementation of outstanding projects.

Cyprus: Economic Situation

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of (a) the extent to which the Turkish Cypriot economy is subsidised by Turkey and (b) the extent to which the Turkish Republic of northern Cyprus depends on such subsidies; what his estimate is of the number and percentage of public sector workers in the north of Cyprus excluding serving military personnel; what assessment he has made of the sustainability of the economy of northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [245174]

Caroline Flint: Estimates for the Turkish contribution to the 2009 Budget are 365,000,000 YTL (new Turkish lira) or 14 per cent. The estimated number of workers in the public sector is between 15,000-20,000. Approximately 39 per cent. of the budget is assigned to personnel costs. The economy is currently in recession.

Cyprus: Education

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in (a) Northern Cyprus and (b) the Republic of Cyprus on education reform, with particular reference in each case to (i) the history curriculum and (ii) the availability of language teaching in the other community’s language; and if he will make a statement. [245222]

Caroline Flint: In 2003, Turkish Cypriots decided to revise their history textbooks. This September, the Republic of Cyprus Education Minister Andreas Demetriou announced the setting up of a committee of experts to review Greek Cypriot history books.

Despite commitments from both sides, the availability of language teaching in the other community’s language is limited. There is currently one Greek Primary School and one Greek Secondary School in the Karpas area. There are currently a number of Turkish Cypriot students that attend a Greek Cypriot school in Limassol, where Turkish language classes are also provided.


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Cyprus: Human Trafficking

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the extent of people trafficking (a) for sexual purposes and (b) other purposes in northern Cyprus in the latest period for which he has information; and if he will make a statement. [245194]

Caroline Flint: We hold no detailed information on this. However the British high commission take the issue seriously and participated in a human trafficking seminar in Cyprus earlier this year.

Cyprus: Land Mines

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government contributed to the removal of land mines in Cyprus; how much other countries or organisations have contributed; how much further funding is required to complete the work; if he will consider further contributions to bridge any outstanding funding gap; and if he will make a statement. [245055]

Caroline Flint: The work to remove landmines in the buffer zone has been largely funded by the EU to the sum of €9m. (The UK contributes approximately 15 per cent. to the EU budget).

However there have also been donations of $25,000 from Slovenia and $250,000 from Canada. On 17 December the UN announced a donation of €15,000 from Hungary.

The funds required to complete the clearance of landmines in the buffer zone stand at €5m (less the donation of €15,000 from Hungary).

We have not yet made a final decision as to whether or not to make further donations to bridge the outstanding funding gap.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in Cyprus on the removal of land mines in (a) the buffer zone, (b) areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus government and (c) the Turkish occupied areas; and if he will make a statement. [245056]

Caroline Flint: To date, the UNDP “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Project” has released 6.5 million square meters of land, clearing 51 minefields and disposing of 9,163 landmines. The project has also played an important role in the opening of crossing points between the two communities, such as Ledra Street.


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