ONLY TWO months left for Greek Cypriots, with property in the north, to apply to the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) for compensation, a human rights lawyer reminded on Wednesday. The Commission, set up by Turkey in 2006 as a domestic remedy to Greek Cypriot property claims, won’t accept any claims after December 21, this year.
The deadline has been known ever since the IPC was set up, but people had been reluctant to apply. Some did not want to have any dealings with the occupation regime, some were not prepared to give up their family property at any price, some felt that the compensation they would have been offered would be too low and others may have heeded the advice of our politicians, all of whom publicly discouraged applying on the grounds that it would harm the national cause.
There was a lively debate of the dilemma on the morning radio shows yesterday, the majority of the speakers urging people not to apply. Neither the lawyers nor the politicians however, were able to suggest a realistic, alternative course of action, presumably because it does not exist. There was no way Greek Cypriots would receive compensation for their properties if they did not go to the IPC.
An AKEL deputy re-iterated the tired, official line, arguing that applications to the IPC weakened our side’s bargaining power at the talks and urged property-owners to wait for a settlement. This was not a tongue-in-cheek comment, although it could have been, as a settlement is not exactly imminent, and it will certainly not be reached by the December 21 deadline. President Christofias undermined this argument a day earlier, saying after his meeting with Dervis Eroglu he was not hopeful for much progress.
Discouraging people from applying to the IPC is neither helpful nor responsible. Would the government compensate owners of property in the north, in three or five years’ time, if there is no settlement? The decision should be left to individuals without any attempt to influence them, because it is clearly a personal matter.
In fact, applying to the IPC is the only means a property-owner has of subsequently taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), if this is the objective. By Wednesday, there were 2,133 applications submitted and just 188 settled – in five years. The slow pace at which the IPC is dealing with cases could be grounds to apply to the ECHR claiming the domestic remedy was ineffective. When would the 2,000th application be examined? And how would the IPC cope if there were 10,000 applications? Settling 40 to 50 cases a year, the Commission would need 200 years to deal with 10,000 applications.
But with their stance against IPC applications, our politicians are helping Turkey keep the lid on a problem that could have easily become unmanageable.
