US rights report raps Cyprus police

By Jean Christou

POLICE on both sides of the Green Line come under fire in the US State Department’s latest report on human rights.

The report, released yesterday, notes that although the police forces on both sides respect the rule of law “instances of police abuse of power continued”.

The 16-page reference to Cyprus mentions a “series of allegations” against police in the government-controlled areas, mainly by non-Cypriots.

It says Turkish Cypriots living in the Republic “also appear to be subjected to harassment and surveillance by the Greek Cypriot police.”

In addition, they have difficulties in obtaining identification cards and other government documents.

In the occupied north, there are “credible reports” of pervasive abuse of power and routine harsh treatment of detainees by Turkish Cypriot ‘police’.

Complaints were also made by some Turkish Cypriot journalists in the occupied areas about surveillance and intimidation.

The US report says the Denktash regime has not responded adequately to these allegations.

It also says the regime failed to conduct a “credible” investigation into the 1996 murder of Turkish Cypriot journalist Kutlu Adali, who had criticised Turkey’s role in the occupied areas.

Neither did the regime carry out any “significant investigations” into the killing of Greek Cypriot demonstrators Solomos Solomou and Tassos Isaac in the Dherynia buffer zone in August 1996.

The report repeats its standard reference to the plight of the enclaved Greek Cypriots and Maronites and to complaints by Greek Cypriots over the destruction of the Greek cultural heritage in the north.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.