Akinci says north’s law change is just to get the ECHR off Turkey’s back’
PROPOSED changes in the north’s property law designed to allow Greek Cypriot refugees to reclaim ownership of their homes were described as a Turkish ploy to gain time by Turkish Cypriot Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) leader Mustafa Akinci yesterday.
“We think it is a delaying action,” Akinci told the Cyprus Mail yesterday, adding that the ultimate aim of the law was not to give back properties, but to get Turkey off the hook over numerous Greek Cypriot property claims filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Akinci, a staunch pro-solutionist, says he will oppose the bill when it faces a parliamentary vote possibly early next week. He cites a list of objections to the proposed changes.
The proposed changes in the law came in response to a ruling by the ECHR last April that said the property commission, set up by former leader Rauf Denktash in 2003, was not a valid recourse for Greek Cypriot property claims because it did not offer the possibility of restitution.
Turkey and the north’s authorities are now seeking to rectify that shortcoming by building in a clause that would make it possible for Greek Cypriots to get their properties back.
But Akinci believes such a change in the law is simply a smokescreen that will do little or nothing to help resolve the island’s three decades old property dispute.
“First of all, I don’t think Greek Cypriots will apply to the commission and I’m not sure that it will be accepted by the ECHR itself,” he said. He added also that there was little consensus among Turkish Cypriot deputies over the workability of the proposal.
But ultimately Akinci believes the changes will be implemented “because Ankara wants them”.
“Since Ankara sent a delegation here, since Abdullah Gul spoke to [main opposition leader] Dervish Eroglu, and since Serdar Denktash’s party went to Ankara, it is no secret,” Akinci said.
Akinci also believes that if the amendments in the law are implemented it will not mean justice for Greek Cypriot refugees and cited comments by ‘foreign minister’ and ‘deputy prime minister’ Serdar Denktash that he said showed how the north’s authorities were attempting to win international approval while at the same time telling the Turkish Cypriots there would be no changes on the ground.
“One day he tells the Greek Cypriots and the international community there will be justice, and then the next day he goes on television and tells the Turkish Cypriots they will not lose their homes,” he said.
“The idea is to create what seems to be a local remedy, but not to give back properties,” he added.
Akinci also believes implementation of the legal changes could increase the “insecurity” already manifest in Turkish Cypriot society, and that the proposals will ultimately give the community a worse deal on property than the one proposed in the Annan plan. He said he had already begun receiving calls from building contractors complaining of cancelled orders.
Asked whether he thought the idea of Greek Cypriots returning to the north might jeopardise the principle of a bizonal solution Akinci said, “If 100 per cent came back, it would”.
Yesterday a legal source from the north told the Mail it was likely the proposed amendment would be put to a ‘parliamentary’ vote on Monday.
“At present it is still being discussed in the committees, and if agreement is reached it will be put to the vote, possibly as early as Monday”.
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