THE Turkish Cypriot leadership last night hailed yesterday’s European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) decision to recognise the north’s Immovable Property Commission (IPC) as a victory, “not only for Turkish Cypriots, but for all Cypriots” who were dispossessed of their properties during Turkey’s invasion of the north in 1974.
“This is a great day for all of Cyprus as it shows a way forward for resolving the property issue,” Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s spokesman Hasan Ercakica told the Cyprus Mail last night.
Despite being viewed in the south as an outright victory for the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot side, Ercakica told the Cyprus Mail he believed the ruling should be seen as “a positive development for Greek Cypriot refugees in that Greek Cypriot refugees now have the real possibility of benefiting from the properties they left behind”.
Since its establishment in 2006, the IPC has received around 400 applications from Greek Cypriots seeking to sell, exchange or regain ownership of the properties they abandoned as Turkish forces took control of the northern part of the island 37 years ago. Around 100 of these cases have been amicably resolved, the vast majority of them through financial compensation. A handful have involved the resettlement of Greek Cypriots in the north, or through the exchange of properties with Turkish Cypriot refugees who now live in the north.
Talat’s spokesman said yesterday he believed the ruling that almost all of the 1,400 Greek Cypriot refugees seeking restitution from the ECHR would need to exhaust legal avenues in the north before turning to the Strasbourg-based court for justice would also have a positive impact on ongoing negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaderships. This, he said, was because the Turkish Cypriot side could now enter negotiations on the property on a “more equal standing” than prior to the ruling. Recently, the north was dealt a major blow when the London Appeals Court upheld a decision by a Nicosia court that a British couple living in a Greek Cypriot property in the north were doing so illegally. The couple have been ordered to demolish the property and return it to it Greek Cypriot owner.
Ercakica’s view was last night echoed by Turkish Cypriot property and international law expert Kudred Ozersay who said the court had come round to the Turkish Cypriot position that property issues on the island could not be resolved merely by looking at them from a legal perspective.
“The ruling refers to the rights of the current users [of the properties] as a factor that should be taken into account,” Ozersay said. This, he said, supported the idea that not all refugees would be granted the right to return to their properties and that some would have to settle for financial compensation or an exchange of their property in the north for abandoned Turkish Cypriot property in the south.
Head of the IPC Sumer Erkman yesterday told the Mail she was “delighted” with the ruling as it manifested a seal of approval from the ECHR.
“They have looked in detail into every ruling we have made and found them to be satisfactory,” she said, adding the ECHR had adopted the view that local judges were more aware of the situation on the island, and therefore preferred rulings made by local judges.
“First a local approach will be tried on each case, then, if the plaintiff is not satisfied he can then take his case to the ECHR,” Erkman said.
In the wake of the ruling, Erkman now expects in steep rise in the number of applications from Greek Cypriot refugees and insists that her office will be able to handle the influx.
“We have prepared ourselves in terms of workload and funds available, and I have no doubt our office will continue its work successfully,” she said.
It remains to be seen however what the almost 1,400 Greek Cypriots who had applied to the ECHR will do now that their application have been effectively rejected. Until now the Cyprus government has frowned on those who applied to the IPC.
Yesterday’s ruling is expected to give a boost to current Turkish Cypriot leader Talat’s hopes of re-election in ‘presidential’ election on April 18. According to most opinion polls coming out of the north, Talat had looked set to lose against right-winger Dervish Eroglu who favours a two-state solution of the Cyprus problem. Talat has however recently received strong signals of support from the Turkish government which insists it favours federal model for reuniting the island.
