INTERIOR minister Christodoulos Christodoulou yesterday revealed that 89 former Turkish Cypriot properties in the government-controlled areas had been sold by their owners to Greek Cypriots living in the south.
And while admitting the practice was perfectly legal, the minister said he would hand over details of the properties to the House Refugee Committee, whose chairman threatened to make them public, suggesting such transactions were contrary to national interest.
Christodoulou was addressing a joint news conference that he and House Refugee Committee chairman Aristophanis Georgiou of AKEL called after meeting yesterday.
The two men discussed allegations made by Georgiou last week that Cypriot businessmen were illegally exploiting properties in the occupied areas.
The House Refugee Committee launched an investigation into the claims on Monday and put questions to the government requesting information about the affair.
But the committee also asked the Interior minister to submit evidence about the transfer of ownership titles of Turkish Cypriot properties in the south to Greek Cypriots.
Christodoulou said yesterday that, according to evidence collected from the Land Surveys Department, “89 properties totalling 421 donums of land have been transferred to Greek Cypriots since 1975.”
The minister noted that of the 89 properties, 77 were transferred to Greek Cypriots between 1975 and 2000 and 11 in the last 10 months.
“It looks like this business is flourishing lately. There is an increased interest among the Greek Cypriots in buying Turkish Cypriot properties according to our information,” Christodoulou said.
The minister, however, admitted that Turkish Cypriots, like all citizens of Cyprus, had every right to sell their properties to whoever they liked.
But Georgiou suggested buying property from Turkish Cypriots in the south – and even more selling it to them in the north – was tantamount to cementing the division of the island.
“There is a moral issue here too. Does not this practice harm the interests of the Cypriot people who struggle for the freedom of their country and isn’t it damaging to the Cyprus issue? We must find the answer to this sensitive issue,” Georgiou added.
The Refugee Committee chairman vowed that, “we will do our best to stem this business.”
A ministry report identifying the properties in question and naming their former and current owners is due to be submitted to the committee soon.
“We will give it to the media as soon as we have it,” Georgiou pledged.
Christodoulou also commented on Georgiou’s claims that Greek and Turkish Cypriot businessmen profited from illegally buying and selling Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied north.
“We just discussed the matter with Georgiou and it has been decided that the Interior and the Foreign ministries as well as the Attorney-general’s office will investigate these allegations. If and when we verify those claims then we will expose those involved,” the minister threatened.
Georgiou insisted that he had already “confirmed part of the information” but conceded that, “official confirmation is always welcome”.
He claimed on Monday that the government was aware of the “immoral and illegal actions” and challenged it to reveal any information it had about the matter.
But Christodoulou denied having “any concrete information about the issue” and urged anyone who had evidence in relation to the alleged activities to submit it to him or bring it to public attention.
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.
