Refugee asks for compensation to be paid from Turkey’s EU aid

A Greek Cypriot has appealed to the Council of Europe (CoE)’s Committee of Ministers for compensation owed to him by Turkey for a property he lost during the Turkish invasion of 1974 be deducted from aid funds the latter receives to host EU refugees.

The man, Dinos Ramon, requested the action over compensation of €450,000 awarded in damages by the European Court of Human Rights.

The property in question was a 32-room clinic Ramon, a chiropractor, owned in the Famagusta district village of Boghaz.

He was 37 years old when he was forced to abandon his property and flee to the southern part of Cyprus, during the Turkish invasion, and since then has been unable to gain access to or use his property, the Cyprus News Agency reported.

He turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as part of the Xenides-Arestis group of cases and won. However, eight years later, Ankara still hasn’t paid the damages awarded.

In view of the forthcoming meeting of the Committee of Ministers, between March 13 and 15, 2018 in Strasbourg, 81-year old Ramon sent a letter through his lawyer, Achilleas Demetriades, asking for a solution.

According to the letter, all EU member states are also members of the Committee of Ministers and in fact they command a majority.

The applicant notes that Turkey is to receive assistance or aid from the EU to the tune of €3 billion in relation to the refugees in its territory. Furthermore, he points that he is also a refugee, with his home and property being in the territory of Cyprus under the effective control of Turkey.

“Therefore, the Applicant suggests that an interim resolution is adopted by the Committee of Ministers requesting Member States of the EU and/ or the EU Commission deduct the amount of the just satisfaction awarded to the applicant, namely €450,000 plus interest and costs from the amount of the said assistance or aid,” it added.

According to the letter, the compensation will satisfy Turkey’s unconditional obligation set out in a number of interim resolutions made by the Committee of Ministers.

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.