STABILITY in the Eastern Mediterranean will remain hostage to full settlement of the Cyprus dispute, but the property issue, — one of its most intractable knots – could be solved now if Greek and Turkish Cypriots compromised on new proposals currently before them, the latest report of the International Crisis Group (ICG) said yesterday.
The report titled ‘Cyprus: Bridging the Property Divide’, examines the fate of tens of thousands of buildings and parcels of land that Greek and Turkish Cypriots own on either side of the divide.
“As Cypriot politicians and Turkey fail to come to terms, the property question is increasingly being atomised by individual actions and the courts – a process that will be more expensive, slow and inefficient for all,” the report says.
“Heavy court penalties, new domestic remedies and the actions of Cypriot individuals mean that the property issue is developing a momentum of its own, whatever happens in the reunification talks”, says Didem Akyel, Crisis Group’s Turkey/Cyprus Analyst. “Greek Cypriots who put their faith only in courts, however, will be investing in long, expensive, uncertain legal processes, with little likelihood of ultimate restitution”.
“Less than a quarter of Cypriots say they want to return to their old homes”, says Hugh Pope, Crisis Group’s Turkey/Cyprus Project Director. “Both sides should seize the opportunity of the current talks to strike a realistic balance between the right to return with the rights of the current users. Time is only making a property settlement harder”.
The ICG says that flagging negotiations could be revived by compromises. It said “innovative proposals” by the Turkish Cypriots “deserved careful consideration”.
A Greek Cypriot proposal to link negotiations on property, territory and settlers could be adapted to become the first stage of a proposal the Turkish Cypriots have made for an international conference on all negotiating topics.
“The two sides should commission a rapid joint audit of land owned in both parts of the island and an economic impact study of redevelopment proposals,” the report added.
“Regardless of what happens in the negotiations, the Greek Cypriots should make legal provisions for mutually agreed property swaps between displaced owners from both sides. Turkish Cypriots must ensure fairness and transparency in the procedures of the Immovable Property Commission they have created to handle Greek Cypriot claims. Turkey should re-launch and sustain its efforts to assure Greek Cypriots of its commitment to a settlement, including the handing back of property and territory along the lines of previous UN plans.”
The ICG report concludes that without agreement on all aspects of the property conundrum, it will be hard to reach a mutually recognised, sustainable settlement of all claims.
“If the parties involved need one compelling reason to put their full weight behind the current fourth major round of UN-sponsored talks to reunify the island in a bizonal, bicommunal federation – or indeed any other mutually acceptable settlement — it is that the complicated property problem will otherwise be much more difficult to manage,” it said.
“If politicians fail to come to grips with the urgent need for a property deal, they will ensure that the issue keeps returning to haunt their peoples, treasuries and international relations for many more years to come.”
