Property boom in the north

Sir,
I do sympathise with my fellow UK and EU citizens the Orams, who now face recourse in English courts for buying stolen property in occupied Cyprus.
But surely Mrs Orams’ suggestion that the rightful refugee owner should, after over 30 years of hurt, simply ‘move on’ is as naive as her decision to buy land on the cheap in an illegal regime.
If the Orams have a gripe, it should be with the British government. For years, according to a spokesman at the British High Commission in Nicosia, UK citizens have been told to seek “very independent legal advice before they make such purchases”. And where, exactly, in occupied Cyprus are they likely to get that?
Thousands of UK citizens would not be in the frightening position they now find themselves had the British government put its people, rather than its relationship with Turkey, first.
Andreas Koumi, The Cypriot Academy, London

Sir,
Thank you for posting my recent letter on the subject of property sales to foreigners in northern Cyprus. I need to reply to comments made by Chris Christofi to my letter. I do so by simply pointing him in the direction of the following realities.
1. There is an unprecedented wave of property development in North Cyprus…
As I write, large parts of the north are no more than giant building sites. This is deeply regrettable and there is nothing Lozidou, Orams or any other case can or will do about it.
2 Sunday’s election in the north continues the stalemate there over the EU. So far the EU has been blocked from making real progress in the north with direct action taken by the south.
3. Blaming the UK, US and Turkey simply won’t do… history in Cyprus started before 1974 and there’s no need to repeat it here.
4. The EU supported the – far from perfect – Annan plan. The EU now knows well enough that an error of historic proportions was made by allowing part of Cyprus to join it before a resolution of the differences between the Greek and Turkish communities there.
Michael Blunden, Kings Langley, UK