LESS than 24 hours after the Attorney-general’s stern warning that Cyprus could find itself in trouble with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the treatment of Turkish Cypriot gypsies arriving from the occupied areas, 23 of them – 13 adults and 10 children – yesterday returned to the north after 18 days in the government controlled areas.
They were among 45 gypsies who had been staying in a purpose-built facility within the central prison compound in Nicosia.
But on Wednesday Attorney-general Alecos Markides issued a strict warning to the Justice and Interior Ministries that the conditions under which the gypsies were held could constitute a violation of their rights since they were Cypriot citizens and had to enjoy the same freedom as everyone else.
The legal services immediately submitted an amendment before the House, to make illegal the detention of any person without a court order.
Detention that would deprive people their freedom would be punishable with a year in jail.
However, the amendment could not be adopted during the Plenum’s last session before its dissolution because of procedural reasons.
Yesterday, five gypsy families who opted to return to the occupied areas, made their way slowly towards the Ledra Palace checkpoint with what little they owned stuffed in duffle bags, and crossed to the north.
The group, aged from eight months to 45 years old, carried no identification and spoke Turkish, apart from two – a man and a woman in their forties – who acted as liaisons with the press and police at the checkpoint.
Rasvan Topaloglulan, 45, told reporters they decided to return because they had not been taken to Paphos and did not have any homes, money or jobs.
They had been hoping to join a further 92 gypsies who crossed over earlier this year and were relocated in Paphos.
The House Human Rights Committee held an extraordinary meeting yesterday morning to look into the issue and decide if in fact the gypsies were being held against their will.
The committee asked the Justice Ministry to clarify the conditions at the central prison holding facility.
The Justice Ministry promptly replied that the gypsies were given lodging at the facility and were told that if they wished to remain there they would also be provided with food.
But the ministry’s explanation did not satisfy committee members, who decided to see for themselves the gypsies’ living conditions.
But the gypsies had left the installation before the committee members had the chance to see what was going on.
Out of the 45 gypsies, 23 returned to the north, 10 were reportedly given lodging at a closed-down hotel in Nicosia, while the rest – seven — remained at the prison facility.
Three are currently in custody for illegal entry into the Republic, while four, of which three underage children were allowed to stay because they were family.
The members of the committee nevertheless visited the facility and found the conditions there to be acceptable.
“It is not a five-star hotel but it is not inhuman either,” committee Chairman AKEL deputy Yiannakis Agapiou said after the visit.
He added: “I think that conditions here could be better from their actual living conditions (in the north).”
DIKO deputy Marios Matsakis agreed.
“The Republic’s behaviour does not constitute a violation of human rights,” he said.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Legal Services pointed out that it was technically impossible for the 45 gypsies to have free movement because the facility where they were staying was inside the prison compound and free access for them could pose serious security problems concerning the inmates.
“All problems have to be handled with strict adherence to the law because Cyprus is a just state,” the statement said.
“Should there be people treated outside the legal parameters, the dangers and problems created would be worse than the cost that a correct and efficient handling of the problem within the law would have.”
Meanwhile problems have emerged in Paphos with the 92 gypsies who were already been given accommodation there.
Reports yesterday suggested the gypsies had left the designated facilities in several Paphos villages and moved to other areas of their choice.
Those staying at the village of Fasoula have moved to the Mouttalos neighbourhood in the town, while those at Makounda and Pelathousa villages in the Polis Chrysochous area have moved to Polis.
This has thrown the authorities’ plans into disarray because it hampers plans for the gypsies’ accommodation.
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.
