Reprieve from CoE property decision

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday won a reprieve in the Council of Europe (CoE) as it managed to postpone a decision on whether to wipe the slate clean on Turkey’s human rights violations in Cyprus.
Attorney-general Petros Clerides warned, however, that the prospects were not great given the “weakened” position of Greek Cypriots on property claims as a result of the recent ruling in Strasbourg on Demopoulos. He noted that the prevailing “negative climate” made things “difficult” on the property issue.
The CoE’s Committee of Ministers was due to discuss a Secretariat proposal to strike Turkey’s obligations, arising from the Fourth Interstate Application by Cyprus against Turkey, from its agenda at its latest meeting held yesterday and ending today.
Cyprus managed to postpone discussion of the issue, pushing it back probably until the next meeting in December. According to Clerides and former Attorney-general Alecos Markides, the omens are not good, given Turkey’s increasing clout in the Committee, whose presidency it will assume in coming months, and the negative impact on property claims resulting from last March’s Demopoulos ruling. 
The Committee of Ministers is responsible for supervising the execution of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgements, which are tabled for discussion during its meetings held every three months. The Committee currently oversees the implementation of five rulings against Cyprus at the ECHR, and the execution of over 350 rulings against Turkey.
The judgement currently being debated is the 2001 interstate application by Cyprus against Turkey, where the ECHR found Turkey guilty of human rights violations in Cyprus stemming from the 1974 invasion as well as the continuing violation of a number of human rights. 
Last June, the Committee of Ministers’ Secretariat tabled a proposal to remove the second part of the interstate application from its agenda, dealing with Greek Cypriot property claims against Turkey. The Cypriot government succeeded in delaying the discussion but only for a short while as it cropped up again now just before the third “human rights” Committee meeting in Strasbourg.
According to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), the Secretariat argued it is now only responsible for supervising the correct execution of the first part of the ECHR ruling in the case of Cyprus vs Turkey, which relates to gross violations of human rights during the 1974 Turkish invasion.
Regarding the second part, following from the Demopoulos ruling, which called on Greek Cypriots to seek redress in the Immoveable Property Commission (IPC) set up by Turkey in the north, there was no reason to continue supervision, it reportedly claimed in a letter sent to its members. Based on this reasoning, Greek Cypriots must pursue their property rights at the IPC, which by and large offers most applicants compensation for occupied land.
The CNA article cited sources saying that Turkey had manoeuvred to get this proposal tabled after Demopoulos. 
While it emerged yesterday that the Cyprus government managed to delay discussion once again on this issue, the likelihood that the chances of it actually winning the debate the next time appear slim.
Clerides noted that the Secretariat, “which more or less guides the more indifferent member states” had raised arguments towards removing the properties issue from the Committee’s agenda. 
“It truly is a difficult situation because there is generally a negative climate, particularly after the Demopoulos case,” he said.
He acknowledged that the issue would never have been raised before Demopoulos. “The whole issue on property in my opinion has been weakened, we must be honest,” he said.
Markides questioned why Cyprus had never sought implementation of the fourth interstate ruling before, hinting that the government had been caught unprepared. 
Explaining the latest challenge from Strasbourg, he said the Committee of Ministers considered it had nothing else to do against Turkey since the ECHR decided it had taken adequate measures in setting up the IPC as an effective remedy against Greek Cypriot property violations. 
While the fourth interstate ruling was “a very powerful weapon”, Markides argued that no serious effort to request its implementation was taken for years.
If post-Demopoulos, and with Turkey taking over the Secretariat the fourth interstate is no longer implementable, the 2001 ruling will no longer be a useful weapon on property claims, he warned.

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.