Cyprus-Forum.com

[brother]

North warns of summons arrests
By Simon Bahceli


Anyone serving a summons against those using occupied Greek Cypriot property ‘will be arrested’

AUTHORITIES in the north warned yesterday they will arrest Greek Cypriots, their lawyers or other representatives seeking to deliver arrest warrants to Turkish Cypriots or foreigners living in the north.

“We have informed our people not to accept documents presented to them by Greek Cypriots and to take down the car registration [of the deliverer] and inform the police straight away,” Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Serdar Denktash told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

Denktash’s comments came in the wake of a flurry of court summons deliveries to people “trespassing” on Greek Cypriot properties in the north.

On Monday, following the delivery of a summons to a Turkish Cypriot restauranteur in Famagusta, the north’s ‘foreign ministry’ issued a statement advising Turkish Cypriots and foreign nationals not to respond to the summonses and not to sign for them.

The statement was coupled with an accusation that the Cypriot government was using the pretext of individual rights to undermine Turkish Cypriot authority in the north.

“This is the strategy of the Greek Cypriot side, and it is clear that this will not aid the development of a constructive atmosphere between the two communities,” the statement read. It added that the UN had been informed of measures the Turkish Cypriot side would take if Greek Cypriots continued attempts to deliver summonses in the north.

It seems, however, that despite the ‘foreign ministry’s’ advice, the Turkish Cypriot Famagusta restauranteur will attend court in the Republic to plead innocent to the charge of trespassing.

It seemed likely yesterday, however, that the threat of legal action against the restauranteur may have missed its intended target.

“This man is not the owner of the restaurant. As far as I know, the owners of the restaurant are a member of the Rashit family who became refugees in 1974 and were given the property as compensation for their losses in the Paphos,” a Turkish Cypriot official told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

“The restaurant was then leased to a Turkish Cypriot who returned from the UK in the late nineties and invested around £500,000 in the business,” the official added.

Serdar Denktash’s chief advisor Kutred Akay told the Mail yesterday the ‘government’ was currently looking at ways to legally prevent Greek Cypriot lawyers or their representatives from delivering summonses in the north.

“We have to look at our legislation and see whether adjustments are needed in order to arrest those serving the summons. We view what they are doing as harassment. No one has the right to do this to our citizens or our guests,” Akay said.

He added the view that all sides should refrain from taking any action on property issues until a landmark case against the Orams, a British couple living in the north who have been ordered by a Greek Cypriot to demolish their home in Lapithos and pay the original Greek Cypriot owners nearly £7,000 pounds compensation for the time they have been using the land, has been resolved.

Earlier this month the Nicosia district court rejected an appeal by the Orams to have an earlier ruling set aside. The Orams are now expected to appeal to the Supreme Court. If, as is expected, the ruling is again upheld, the Greek Cypriot owner of the property, Meletis Apostolides, says he will seek the assistance of courts in the UK to have the Orams’ Sussex property seized as way of gaining compensation.

Asked whether recent threats by the Cypriot government that it could issue EU arrest warrants against those “trespassing” in Greek Cypriot properties would force targets of summonses to attend court Akay said, “This is something for the EU to think about. They say they want to end the isolation of the north, but one member of the organisation is using the courts to further isolate the Turkish Cypriots. This is a contradiction that should be addressed.

“We opened the borders to help engender contacts between the two communities, but now they [Greek Cypriots] are using this freedom of movement to punish the Turkish Cypriots,” he added.

Foreign Minister Andreas Christou said yesterday he was aware of reaction to the summonses and legal cases by those living in the north, but expressed optimism that pressure from the Greek Cypriot side was forcing foreigners to think twice before buying abandoned Greek Cypriot properties.

“We wish to boost the message that these properties do not belong to those that are selling them,” Christou said, adding: “Anyone who wants to help the Cypriot cause should avoid getting involved in such adventures”.

[brother]

So there we have it all our defences going up and also with these developments we now start to alienate each other, bless you all in cyprus for being complete idiots.