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The usurpers of the Greek Cypriot properties in occupied Cyprus are moving to put the British justice under their control

Under the title Eupro moves to block arrest warrants in UK in its front page and Government Minister Addresses Eupro meeting in the inside pages, Turkish Cypriot Cyprus Times newspaper (13/05/05) publishes two reports which show that the usurpation of the properties of the Greek Cypriots, who were forced to abandon them in 1974 to escape from the Turkish army, is made on a premeditated and organized manner.

On the Eupro meeting, held in occupied Kyrenia on 8 May, before the committee of the owners of Greek Cypriot properties started their lobby actions in London, Cyprus Times newspaper writes the following:

Over 350 members of Eupro, the European Property Association of Northern Cyprus, attended a meeting at the Colony Hotel on Wednesday evening 11 May, to hear Minister for the Economy & Tourism Dervis Deniz, outline the governments position on legal moves taken by Greek Cypriots against property owners and agents in the north.

Following presentation by Eupro Chairman Shelley White and UK Director Donald Crawford, the Minister addressed the meeting followed by questions from the floor, which prompted a lively and informative debate about actions being taken by the Greek Cypriot side, fears and concerns of the membership, and the governments determination to effectively counter threats and actions against TRNC residents.

I know that I speak for the president as well as myself when I say how much we appreciate the support we have had over these past years, and which we continue to have now, from the foreign community who share both our lives and our hopes for the future, said Mr Deniz.

Addressing Eupro the so-called Minister, Mr Deniz said: I salute EUPRO and all of you here tonight. Eupro is dedicated to the same causes and principles as the government - a just and honourable settlement of a complex and difficult problem. It believes in particular, that the solution of the property issue can only be found through the political process, not through provocative and ultimately meaningless or pointless legal action against foreigners and Turkish Cypriots.

They affect all of us, not just the individuals directly caught up in them. The danger is that unless they are rebutted, they will increase the divisions between the two communities at the very time when we seek to end them. The government in the south says it cannot prevent its citizens bringing these actions. It denies any part in them, yet it has not denounced claims of this kind, so we must expect more of them.

The minister went on to explain what should be done to respond to Greek Cypriot actions. Firstly we must make it clear to the European Union that these claims are a threat not only to our economic well-being but also to the political process. We will emphasise that the risk is that Turkish Cypriots will be driven to the courts to seek the same remedies in respect of their lands in the south. If that were to happen then our task of achieving a political solution would be even more difficult. Mr Deniz suggested that a legal battle is in no ones interest.

At the same time, we cannot let these challenges pass, the minister continued.

Affected and threatened individuals have right to defend themselves as best they can. Eupro has demonstrated that it will vigorously defend the interests of its members and to that end it has assembled a formidable and impressive legal team in London. We welcome that, because this government strongly believes in partnership with civil society. Foreign residents and property owners in the north are part of that civil society and those who choose to come here implicitly make a commitment to our cause and our future together.

And Mr Deniz concluded:

There will of course be many developments in the months ahead, so we want you to continue to support and understand what we will be doing. We intend to find ways to can improve communications between government and the foreign community; and to ensure we work as closely as possible in all areas of common concern, we have asked Eupro to discuss with us what practical steps can be taken to make cooperation effective. The Minister then announced the formation of Presidential committee of professional advisors including members of Eupro so as to ensure that a collective and effective approach to Greek Cypriot moves are made known to the international community. The minister finished by saying: Let me say again how very glad I am to have had this opportunity to talk to you tonight, to assure you that we stand together and to promise you this: We will not let you down. Together we will prevail.

At the end of the meeting Minister Deniz was whisked away to attend a Prime Ministerial meeting, where the issue was discussed, but left Eupro Director and members with a reassuring feeling of government support for TRNC property owners who may find themselves in a sport of bother with former Greek Cypriot landowners.

On Eupro contacts in London the paper writes:

Eupro lawyers in London have asked the UK authorities for written confirmation that they will not execute any European arrest warrants issued by the Greek Cypriots pursuing property owners in the North. They argue that no English judge would order the extradition of an individual to Cyprus, and therefore no one should be arrested.

Under British law the Extradition Act 2003, spells out how the EU law governing cross-border arrest warrants is to be enforced in the UK, and the process which must be followed before anyone can be arrested or extradited to another EU member state.

All European arrest warrants have to be sent in the first instance to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) in London for certification that they comply with the terms of the UKs Extradition Act 2003. The police can only arrest someone if the NCIS has confirmed to them that it believes the warrant to be lawful, in which case the person arrested must be taken to Bow Street Magistrates Court the designated court for extradition cases for a ruling by a district judge.

But Eupro wants to ensure that no case gets that far. It is little consolation to someone arrested, kept in police custody and then taken to court to be then told by a judge that they are free to go. We want the NCIS to reject them as soon as they drop into their in-tray. That is why we are seeking to block them now.

No arrest of anyone can be made without direct authorization from the NICS, which must first satisfy itself that the warrant received complies with UK law. Apart from a number of crimes specifically listed in the EU regulation - such as terrorism, murder, drug trafficking - an arrest warrant can only be certified for execution by the NCIS if the offence alleged is also a crime in the UK.

Illegal use or occupation or trespass in a former Greek Cypriot property in the North is not a crime under British law. Moreover, Eupro lawyers argue that since the North is not a member of the EU, it is therefore outside the scope of the Extradition Act.

Eupros lawyers have told the NCIS that warrants from the Greek Cypriots should be neither certified nor executed. They say that, The change made by the Republic of Cyprus to its laws to come within the EAW framework and its use of that framework is blatantly political.

They also warn the NCIS that the arrest and detention by the police of any individual affected by a Greek Cypriot warrant would be a breach of their rights under the European Convention of Human Rights, and that they are already in the process of preparing a formal complaint to the ECHR about the use of these warrants under Greek Cyprus law.

Each country in the EU will apply its own laws to the arrest warrants, says a Eupro spokesman, but it is difficult to see how any country will accept these Greek Cypriot warrants except Greece. At the same time, we want it made absolutely clear from the outset that no one will face the threat of arrest anywhere else and Britain is a good place to begin. And we want that in writing.