Lobby for Cyprus Fact sheet May 2007

To Channel Five television
Property Developing Abroad
Firstly, so-called ‘North Cyprus’ is not actually a country, by any stretch of the imagination. It is part of the Republic of Cyprus that is under illegal occupation, as verified by the European Court of Human Rights, the European Union and countless United Nations resolutions.

1 Feb 2006
Letter
To Cherie Blair
We are greatly disturbed by your decision to take up the defence of Mr and Mrs Oram who as you no doubt know have acquired illegal possession of the home of Mr Apostolides in the occupied north of Cyprus.

Property is theft
Given that over 92 percent of property in occupied Cyprus is Greek Cypriot, Church, or Republic of Cyprus government owned, it can be safely assumed that very little development has been carried out with the wishes of the legitimate owners. read statement>

The Turkey v Loizidou case – the political fallout
Lobby statement as published in The Cyprus Weekly, 23 August 1998. The significance of this case is not so much in its financial impact but in the political repercussions. The idea of offering Greek Cypriot refugees exchange of properties or compensation in order to surrender ownership of their land... read more>

Cyprus settlement must be legally valid
Lawyers will view the latest face-to-face discussions between the president of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides and Rauf Denktash with some interest. Of particular interest will be how the question of property rights is dealt with... read more>

Land matters
It is a fact that more than 90% of the land of the occupied area of Cyprus is owned by Greek Cypriots – individuals and families, the Church and Government, business and commercial interests... read more>

Refugees must reclaim, rebuild and return
With the historic decision of the ECHR finding Turkey guilty of massive violation of the rights of Greek Cypriots, now more than ever the refugees must restate their resolve to reclaim what is rightfully theirs... read more>

Compensation – another angle
Lobby for Cyprus has tirelessly pointed out that the idea of "compensating" Greek Cypriot refugees for foregoing their lands is a non-starter... read more>

Title-deeds – the refugees' key to return
It is well known that the title-deeds gifted by the Denktash regime to its friends are not worth the paper they are written on. Not only does the European Court of Human Rights say this but even Turkish and Turkish Cypriot registered banks recognise this fact... read more>

1 May 2009
Guardian
Scent of victory among the lemon trees as displaced Cypriots win claim on ancestral land
"For two years, the UN has been exhuming mass graves across Cyprus, reviving harrowing memories of the bloodshed in which 2,000 Greek and Turkish Cypriots disappeared without trace. Angelique Chrisafis explains how finding her uncle’s remains after 34 years has helped her family – but also raised painful new questions about the fate of those still missing."

1 June 2007
Cyprus Weekly
Thieving exploitation
MPs denounce Turkish usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties
MPs yesterday denounced Turkey's usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied north and urged Greek Cypriot owners at the same time not to become involved in such deals that may have a negative impact on the efforts for a just settlement and the return of refugee properties to their legal owners. The vote declared that, in addition to this "thieving exploitation" of the Greek Cypriot properties, Turkey persists with the destruction of the cultural heritage and the natural environment in the north.

Cyprus Mail
Turkey told to pay up in property case
TURKEY must pay 880,000 euros to Greek Cypriot refugee Myra Xenides-Arestis by August 22, following a final decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), lawyer Achilleas Demetriades said yesterday.

Cyprus Mail
Home owners in the north only have themselves to blame for crisis
THE NUMBER of British house-buyers being cheated by developers, estate agents and builders in the occupied north has been steadily rising. People who have been the victims of dishonest developers, incompetent builders and crooked lawyers are now posting accounts of their experiences on a website, for prospective buyers to see.

Cyprus Mail
The violation of property rights in Cyprus: is there still hope?
‘Human rights concerns regarding Cyprus stem largely from the division of the island along a ceasefire line and the current unresolved political situation. The division of the island has consequences for the enjoyment, on the whole of the island, of a number of human rights including…property rights’ (Report by the UN Secretary General to the Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/2002/33, March 4, 2002).

12 Mar 2007
Cyprus News Agency
Bill for US citizens to claim property in occupied Cyprus introduced
"US Congressman Frank Pallone and 16 other colleagues have introduced bipartisan legislation that would allow US citizens, who own property in the Turkish occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus, to seek financial remedies with either the current inhabitants of their land or the Turkish government."

20 OCT 2006

Cyprus Weekly
Kyrenia Bishop protests over conversion of church to dance school
"In his letter to the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Council of Europe and Unesco, the Kyrenia Bishop said the continuing unacceptable treatment of religious and cultural heritage in the occupied part of Cyprus has exceeded all boundaries of shamelessness." read more»

08 SEP 2006

Cyprus Mail
‘The reasoning of the judgement was flawed’
"the British High Court ruling did not in any way legalise the illegal purchase of Greek Cypriot property in the occupied areas. 'On the contrary, it certifies that the illegally occupied Greek Cypriot property belongs to its legitimate inhabitants and that any purchaser or exploiter of this property is violating another's ownership.'" read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Round one to the Orams
"[Turkish Cypriot newspaper] Afrika was more circumspect. "Plunder and do not be afraid," the daily said, calling the high court ruling "good news for everyone who plunders Greek Cypriot properties…" read more>

Cyprus Weekly
Court ruling not end of the road
"the ruling recognizes the illegal nature of transactions involving Greek Cypriot property in the north…" read more>

07 SEP 2006

Cyprus News Agency
Cyprus–Orams
"The Cypriot government has underlined that Greek Cypriots remain the owners of their land in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus and that those buying property not belonging to them are acting illegally." read more>

07 JUL 2006

Cyprus Weekly
TC architect charged with building on refugee land
A TURKISH Cypriot architect has been charged in connection with illegal building on Greek Cypriot owned land in the occupied north.
read more>

29 JUN 2005

Guardian
Buyer beware: how the bottom fell out of the Cypriot holiday dream
"As ever more Greek Cypriots, exploiting EU law, launch legal proceedings for properties they were forced to abandon during the 1974 Turkish invasion, many of these UK citizens have discovered that their title deeds are worthless... Alarmed by the leap in claims, the Foreign Office urged would-be British buyers to seek independent legal advice before entering into any deal... In a landmark case with possible repercussions for thousands of UK property owners, Linda and David Orams, an East Sussex couple, lost their appeal against a court order, issued in the Greek-run south, to demolish their villa and return the plot to Miltiades Apostolides, its original owner, who says he still has the title deeds 30 years after fleeing the north... The Orams face the prospect of having their home in Hove seized... But Greek Cypriots, heartened by support from the European court of human rights, show no sign of backing down. For them, the new settlers are the owners of ill-gotten gains... "The original owners never stopped having legal title to their land," said Kypros Chrysostomides, a spokesman for the Cypriot government. "What all these people have done is not only immoral but illegal."" read more>

02 JUN 2005

Cyprus Weekly
Sales of GC properties in north slashed
"SALES of Greek Cypriot property in the occupied north have been slashed by half this year over last, thanks to a government campaign warning foreign nationals of the legal troubles they could face, Interior Minister Andreas Christou said... the campaign’s central message was that selling off property in the north is of no benefit to either community as it would complicate settlement efforts. "...these actions are illegal, they poison the atmosphere and create more problems in the search for a Cyprus solution,"... Nicosia has mounted an international diplomatic offensive to persuade foreign governments that property sales in the north are in breach of international law and UN resolutions... "Foreigners are responsible. We should send the message that this country is not for sale," said Christou." read more>

27 MAY 2005

Cyprus Mail
British fugitive on arrest warrant over massive development in north
"A EUROPEAN arrest warrant and Interpol ‘red bulletin’ has been issued against Gary Robb, one of the north’s most notorious British fugitives, for carrying out construction projects on Greek Cypriot-owned properties, according to reports in the Turkish Cypriot press yesterday." read more>

09 MAY 2005

Guardian
Cypriots battle over luxury real estate
"Europeans who long bought property in northern Cyprus at bargain prices – often land confiscated from Greek Cypriot refugees who fled after a Turkish invasion 31 years ago split the island – now face the prospect of losing it because of Cyprus' entry into the European Union... The invasion forced nearly 200,000 Greek Cypriots to leave their homes in the north and 40,000 Turkish Cypriots to relocate there from the south. More than 150,000 settlers from mainland Turkey also have arrived in intervening years, taking over Greek Cypriot properties in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Now British newspapers are warning citizens not to buy in northern Cyprus... The London Observer wrote in a full page report that buying such holiday property "could become a legal and financial nightmare. Recent court rulings by the Human Rights Court of the Council of Europe and a Greek Cypriot court have reaffirmed the property restitution rights of Greek Cypriot refugees... Before the Turkish invasion of 1974, 82 percent of northern Cyprus territory was Greek Cypriot-owned and 16.5 percent Turkish Cypriot, according to Cypriot government statistics." read more>

25 APR 2005

Agence France Presse
Briton held for Cyprus land ad
"A Briton living in the south of Cyprus has been arrested and charged with involvement in the illegal sale of Greek-Cypriot property in the island’s Turkish-occupied north... The suspect was charged with illegally advertising on the Internet the properties of Greek Cypriots displaced by Turkey’s 1974 invasion... Authorities also issued warrants for the arrest of the two other Britons who own the real estate firm." read more>

21 APR 2005

Cyprus Weekly
Court upholds property judgement against the Orams
"...European arrest warrants are for the first time coming in to play to prevent the arbitrary sale and development of Greek Cypriot property in the north without the consent of the rightful owners... Turkey, against which the claims were mainly filed, had at its disposal a huge legal, financial and public relations arsenal that called for coordinated action on the Greek Cypriot part... In her decision Judge Efraim demolished one by one all the defence arguments of the British couple, including one that the Greek Cypriot owner had voluntarily abandoned his property..." read more>

20 APR 2005

Cyprus Mail
Refugees file for European arrest warrant against British estate agent
" The petition concerns 42-year-old Mark Unwin of Guildford, Surrey, who started Unwin Estates along with his wife Hayran in December 1999... Refugee Christos Mazios said he visited his orchard in Ayios Epiktitos near Kyrenia three weeks ago and found out that Unwin estate agents were working on a project on his property.... “You feel bad when a foreigner comes and builds on your property without you giving permission,”... could not understand how a British citizen could come to Cyprus and violate Greek Cypriot properties... " read more>

14 APR 2005

BBC
N Cyprus property row hots up
""I was in the national guard service. About 50 people from my engineering regiment were captured. Only 18 survived..." Mr Apostolides says he wants a solution, but believes the building boom in the north is erecting another obstacle... He says he hopes the Orams case will make foreigners think twice... The British parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee warned this month that British citizens intending to buy property in northern Cyprus "risk exposing themselves to legal action by Greek Cypriots who may be the rightful owners of those properties"... But if the courts uphold their original judgement, lawyer Mr Candounas says he will use Cyprus' new EU membership to try to have the judgement registered in the UK, and will go after the Orams' assets there." read more>

07 APR 2005

Cyprus Mail
UK developer ‘unaware complex was on Greek Cypriot land’
"THE HEAD of the UK-based Lewis Trust Group (LTG) that has taken over a project to turn a 270-donum plot of Greek Cypriot-owned land in the Karpas peninsula into a high-class tourist resort says he did not know the land on which he will build was Greek Cypriot." read more>

Cyprus Mail
Rights court delivers new blow to Turkey
"THE European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that a ‘compensation commission’ set up by the Turkish Cypriot regime cannot be an effective domestic remedy in addressing Greek Cypriot refugee claims, opening the doors to a flood of court cases against Turkey... lawyer Achilleas Demetriades said “It is of great importance because the way is still open for applications against Turkey.” In its decision, the Third Section of the ECHR observed, among other things: “The composition of the commission raises concerns, since, in the light of the evidence submitted by the Cypriot government, the majority of its members are living in houses owned or built on property owned by Greek Cypriots.”... Turkey was last year forced to pay $1.1 million to Loizidou, as compensation for the loss of use of her property in Kyrenia. Until then, it had been refusing to comply with the judgement of the ECHR for five years. It is still refusing to implement a second court decision regarding Loizidou: the freedom to enjoy her property... The latest ECHR decision is set to affect hundreds of cases pending before the court... He said the creation of the commission was clearly a political act and not a domestic legal remedy in line with the articles of the European Human Rights Convention." read more>

11 MAR 2005

Cyprus Mail
Refugees band together to protect properties
"... law suits will be filed against anyone deemed to be taking advantage of Greek Cypriot property without entitlement... scores of refugees have already started collecting dossier evidence to incriminate those illegally using their property in the north." read more>

04 FEB 2005

Cyprus Mail
UK 'watching Orams case closely'
"THE BRITISH government is keeping a close watch on the case of a British woman sued for possession the property of a refugee in the occupied north and is advising its citizens to seek independent legal counselling before buying property in the north." read more>

02 FEB 2005

Cyprus Mail
Property market slumps in the north
"Seventy to eighty per cent of our business has been lost. It’s just one blow after another" read more>

22 JAN 2005

Guardian
Britons fight to hold on to Cypriot home
"... title deeds to the properties remain with the nearly 200,000 Greeks who were forcibly displaced at that time. Last year, the European court of human rights issued a ruling establishing Greek Cypriots as the "only true and lawful owners" of the land. Inevitably, most British residents are apologists for the veteran Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, an unflinching opponent of reunification. "The fact is that Greek Cypriots never lost their legal title to their properties," government spokesman Kypros Chrysostimides told the Guardian. As the Orams had discovered, buyers "ran the risk" of being sued at any time. He added: "In the wake of Cypriot entry to the EU last year, they could expect to be hauled before UK courts for trespass, or conspiracy to commit trespass to such properties."" read more>

14 JAN 2005

Cyprus Weekly
Orams case gets to court. Illegal deeds produced in court
"If they fail to have the demolition order set aside, they face having the Cyprus court decision enforced against their UK property by the British High Court under an EU regulation." read more>

22 DEC 2004

Politis
Nicosia court issues arrest warrant for Linda Orams
"David and Linda Orams, the British couple sued by a Greek Cypriot refugee for building on his property in the occupied north will have to appear before court next month or face the risk of losing their UK assets." read more>

22 NOV 2004

The Times
Britons face losing homes in Cyprus as refugees reclaim land
"A BRITISH couple who built a “dream” holiday home on Greek Cypriot land abandoned under force in northern Cyprus have been ordered to demolish it, return the plot and pay the original title-holder damages of nearly £10,000." read more>

21 MAY 2004

Cyprus Weekly
Refugees' right to return stressed in Strasbourg
"As a matter of general principle every person who has been deprived of his personal property and forced to become a refugee has the human right to return and to recover his/her property. Nothing can annul this right because it also has to do with the roots, the dignity and the identity of a person,'' Chenard said... In a clear reference to the Annan Plan, Giovanni di Stasi of Italy, the newly elected CLRAE president, said: "I do not believe in formulas prepared elsewhere but in formulas prepared with the people concerned. Nobody can impose a settlement of the Cyprus problem by a strategy elaborated elsewhere, in Strasbourg, in Brussels or in New York." read more>

27 MAR 2004

Times
Britons could lose homes if Cyprus is reunited
"All these people who are rushing now to buy property at what they think are reasonable prices from non-owners will be in trouble sooner or later" read more>

09 AUG 2003

Cyprus Mail
Did European Court judges stay at the Dome Hotel?

05 SEP 2003

Cyprus Mail
Turkey backtracking on Loizidou payment
Haravgi
The decision by the Council of Europe on Loizidou case postponed

29 AUG 2003

Cyprus Weekly
Properties issue heats up as refugees threaten action

06 JUNE 2003

Cyprus Weekly
Turkish bid to play for more time on Loizidou is rejected

30 MAY 2003

Cyprus Mail
'Turkey ready to pay up in Loizidou case’

25 MAY 2003

Cyprus Mail
Home sweet homeland