THE TURKISH Cypriot owner of a house in Limassol, which he abandoned in 1974, has demanded the eviction of the Greek Cypriot refugee family living there since so that he could resettle, the House Refugee Committee said yesterday.
The issue was raised by DISY deputy Christodoulos Taramoundas, who claimed the authorities had already asked the refugee to leave the house.
He warned that if the authorities insisted in making the family refugees for a second time then they would have bear the brunt of all the refugees.
“The refugees in the area have informed me that they would react to this attempt, wherever it comes from,” Taramoundas said.
Taramoundas revealed that the Turkish Cypriot man has already received £1.5 million in compensation for his land in Polemidia that the Republic had appropriated to build the refugee estate.
“It is the first case of an attempt to evict a Greek Cypriot refugee from a Turkish Cypriot house he’s been living in since 1974 in order to return it to the Turkish Cypriot owner,” Taramoundas said.
He added: “We recognise this right but all legal procedures should be followed.”
Around 5,000 abandoned Turkish Cypriot homes were by law handed over to refugees after the 1974 Turkish invasion.
Taramoundas said the move could create a precedent for the return of thousands of Turkish Cypriots demanding their homes and properties.
A few hours later, the Interior Minister sought to put an end to the issue by assuring the deputy that his ministry’s departments would not be involved in the eviction procedure any further.
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