23 November 1998
FOR PUBLICATION

"All refugees will return home" Lobby for Cyprus seminar is told

"Everyone in this room will return home to occupied Cyprus", was one of the most telling messages given to the audience at a Lobby for Cyprus seminar on the significance of the momentous European Court of Human Rights decision in the Loizidou versus Turkey case, November 19.

The speaker was Mark Stephens, the famed human rights lawyer. Also on the panel was Achilleas Demetriades, the Nicosia based lawyer who argued the case before the Court, and the successful appellant, Mrs Titina Loizidou. Nick Kounoupias, of Lobby was the chairman of the discussion.

Stephens also said that the Loizidou decision will have to be taken into consideration in any solution to the illegal division of the island.

The talks by the three panelists was deliberately short so as to permit the maximum number of questions from the large and receptive audience, comprised mainly of refugees and others looking to bring similar applications against Turkey.

For his part, Demetriades explained that the next lot of cases to be presented to the Court should be specially selected so as to reflect the various types of claims. Therefore, he said, "the argument of the more cases the better is not valid at this early stage."

In explaining his reasoning, Demetriades said that his "plan of action" was to "target" the applications to the Court meaning, for instance, those properties under the control of the Turkish army, and those properties that are known to be occupied by the Anatolian colonists brought over by Turkey to change the cultural balance of the occupied area will be given higher priority.

The next target, he said, will be to challenge the fencing-off of Famagusta. Then, the plan is to target the economic interest of the Turks "to make them feel the legal costs."

All that is needed to bring a case before the court is that the would-be appellant must possess the title-deeds to his or her property and fill in the appropriate form, which is available from Lobby for Cyprus in the UK.

According to Stephens, British-based Cypriots may receive Legal Aid to fight their case before the Court.

Since the Turks have indicated that they will not pay Mrs Loizidou the CY£450,000 that was awarded her for the loss of access to her property, questions uppermost in the minds of the audience were how will she - and by implication others - receive the compensation, and can the enforcement be pursued through the British courts. The answer to the second question was a definite "Yes."

The answer to the first question touched on the political significance of the decision. The three lawyers on the panel agreed that the Court's credibility was at stake. More than that, Stephens, said, the Council of Europe's credibility was at stake. Thus, for the "public order of Europe" according to Stephens, the court order must be enforced. Kounoupias added that Lobby had just received a letter from the UK Foreign Office in which it stated that "we look to Turkey to take a reasonable and constructive approach and noted that rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are binding on states."

As to specifics, should Turkey persist in its defiance - which no one has ever done in the Court's 48 years of existence - the order can be enforced by the seizure of Turkish property in Europe and by garnisheeing Turkish funds in any bank in Europe.

Kounoupias reminded the audience that the compensation awarded to Mrs Loizidou was for loss of access to her property and not for the loss of the property, which she still owns. He therefore questioned why anyone "would willingly accept paltry compensation for loss of ownership of their property when they could keep taking Turkey back to the Court for loss of use of property they own."

Speaking in Greek and English, Mrs Loizidou explained the background of the case and how it affected her and her family. She went on to say that her only desire was to return to her home in Kyrenia. This was the driving force throughout the last nine years since the beginning of her case against Turkey. She added that nobody should have the right to deny her the "happiness" of enjoying her life in her birthplace living with her neighbours and people that she was brought up with.

Specific cases could not be discussed at the Seminar, but Lobby for Cyprus will advise anyone who may feel he or she has a claim.

The Seminar is one of a series sponsored by Lobby for Cyprus and was the third devoted to the Loizidou case. Lobby, a non-party-political organisation, seeks the reunification of the island through the implementation of "the 3Rs" - the Removal of the Turkish army, the Repatriation of the Turkish colonists and the Return of all refugees to their homes.

Lobby for Cyprus