Statements by the President of the Republic and the Gov. Spokesman on ECHR decision
Statements by the President of the Republic
08/03/2010
“The ECHR decision will not prevent us from defending principles and the right of the real owners of property to have first choice as far as the their property is concerned”, the President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias said yesterday, noting that we must not create panic and say that the game is lost.
In statements to the press, on the sidelines of the Pancyprian Conference of the Pancyprian Federation of Women's Organisations (POGO) in Nicosia, President Christofias invited to comment on the ECHR decision on the eight pilot applications submitted by Greek Cypriots, said:
“It is a retrogressive decision, which we had predicted; and we had warned at times that mass applications to the Court could possibly, at the end of the day, lead to the recognition of the “Commission” of the occupation force. Unfortunately, they did not listen to us and it happened. I would also like to express my sadness because I hear people, who instead of being self critical, they are critical of us. These are the persons, who were encouraging the people to file mass applications because they believed that
we could solve the Cyprus problem through legal procedures. Now they are trying to put the blame on others. We must have the strength to accept mistakes and omissions. The massive appeals were a mistake in my opinion. I am not criticizing the people; the people were guided by the politicians and the lawyers to make these moves. Of course, now, we have to look ahead and see how to deal with the situation, if possible, collectively.
Whether it will affect the talks? We are guided by positions of principle at the talks. Of course we also received criticism because we categorized, through the talks, the properties and this is very unfair in my view. In any case, the ECHR decision will not prevent us from defending principles and the right of the real owners of property to have first choice as far as their property is concerned. I want to assure the people and the political powers about this, and to say that Turkey’s celebrations are excessive
but, I believe, they are also celebrations with a purpose. I do not undermine the negative points of the decision in this way, but we should not panic and say that the game is lost”.
Asked whether the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat might try to exploit the ECHR decision at the negotiations, President Christofias replied: “I don’t know if Mr Talat will do such a thing; it would be wrong if he does. When the Orams decision was made we neither celebrated nor tried to exploit the Court’s rightful decision at the negotiating table. I hope that Mr Talat will continue the negotiations with respect towards his interlocutor and the procedure, and with respect, of course, to the rights of
the citizens – Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots”.
Invited to comment on reports alleging that the ECHR decision was influenced by the “good climate at the talks”, he said such statements were being made by people who were dogmatically against everything the President of the Republic did and would not miss an opportunity to criticize the President.
Asked about the Government’s document providing information to the public on the solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, President Christofias wondered whether it was wrong to inform the people and added: “We are very late. Not just us but all the Governments ever since the Greek Cypriot side committed, in the most official manner, to a solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation. Firstly, the leaders should have been informed and taught what constitutes a federation, and particularly a bizonal, bicommunal
federation, and this is something that should not take that long. Secondly, it should have been explained to the public; it did not happen and I am sorry for that. We have been governing for two years and we believed, right from the start, that such a thing should happen. As you know there were fierce reactions at the National Council because we made a decision to inform the people about what a federation is. We have overcome all that and we are moving forward; I think this is a necessity that we are trying to
meet”.
Lastly, invited to say whether anything else, besides the ongoing negotiation process, could possibly happen in an attempt to speed up the solution effort until April, the President of the Republic replied: “I do not think so”.
Statements by the Gov. Spokesman – ECHR decision
08/03/2010
The Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou made statements to the press on Saturday regarding last Friday’s decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about the eight pilot applications submitted by Greek Cypriots regarding their properties in the occupied areas.
In his statement, Mr Stefanou said the following:
“The ECHR’s decision, which declares as non-admissible the applications of eight Greek Cypriots claiming their properties, constitutes a negative development. With its decision the ECHR deems accessible and effective remedy the so-called ‘immovable property commission’ in the occupied areas. The decision calls on the interested applicant to exhaust all domestic means available, before seeking recourse to the ECHR, by referring him to the illegal property/compensation commission and to a court in the occupied
areas.
The ECHR’s ruling is respected, albeit we consider it erroneous. The ECHR cannot refer, in order to remedy the property problem of each owner, to means that essentially constitute a product and outcome of unlawfulness. Not even ECHR’s previous findings, like those in the Fokas and Protopapas case, can justify the Court’s down-fall in this case.
The Court, in its decision, makes reference to the invasion and occupation, and it notes the Turkish Government’s responsibility in the occupied areas. It also notes that Turkey recognises the rights of Greek Cypriot property owners. The Court clearly points out that the applicants have not lost the title deed, just like the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Talat has also admitted during the discussion on property at the negotiations. In an indirect but obvious manner the Court rejects the acts by which properties have
been illegally transferred to the invasion force.
Unfortunately, though, the Court claims that after 35 years it is not possible for all Greek Cypriot property applications to be settled, randomly noting the practical and legal difficulties that might ensue and create new injustices.
Turkey is the occupation power and violates the territorial integrity and the international law in Cyprus. Consequently, the question that arises is how can the European Court of Human Rights refer to an illegal “Commission”, which is founded on Turkey’s illegality?
The decision creates a series of problems, which will be carefully evaluated. We believe, however, that the ruling is also a result of the fact that the ECHR considers as a necessary way of handling its own problems, with the volume of work it has, to refer cases to a national level. To this end statements were made very recently by the President and Registrar of the ECHR. This development cannot be considered a surprise since, for many years now, there have been indications that the Court had this orientation,
especially after the case of Xenides-Arestis.
The large number of applications filed by Greek Cypriots to the ECHR provided the Court with the opportunity to point to the so-called “Commission” as an effective domestic remedy for appeal. The President of the Republic, as General Secretary of AKEL and as President of the House of Representatives had warned that mass applications to the Court might run risks that should be avoided.
The President of the Republic had emphatically stressed many times that political issues, such as the Cyprus problem, cannot be solved in the Courts but at the negotiating table utilizing, of course, the tools that the international law, the interstate applications of the Republic of Cyprus as well as Court decisions, such as the case of Titina Loizidou, provide.
For, yet, another time the President of the Republic states that he will continue to support principles in the efforts he is making for the solution of the Cyprus problem, including the property issue”.
