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AG seeks to play down property hype
By George Psyllides


ATTORNEY-general Petros Clerides yesterday sought to play down the hype over the sale of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied north.

Clerides said he doubted whether reports reflected the true dimension of the matter and warned that the manner in which the issue was being presented could create unjustified panic.

The matter had been raised in the past, but it gained special prominence this week after DISY deputy George Georgiou claimed Greek Cypriots were engaging in an orgy of property sales in the occupied north.

And reports yesterday suggested the interior ministry had decided to enforce a 1970 law, which bans the sale of land if it is judged that the buyer could use it in a way that would affect public security.

Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said the state had an obligation to enforce the law and it was up to the Interior Minister’s discretion to decide, based on certain criteria.

Some, however, have warned the antiquated law could conflict with the acquis communitaire.

If the Supreme Court decided that the law was unconstitutional or conflicted with the acquis, then the necessary amendments would be made, the spokesman said.

Interior Minister Andreas Christou called for calm over the issue.

He repeated that his ministry had not received any application to officially register or transfer any property from Greek Cypriots to anyone in the north.

The minister, however, could not rule out transactions being carried out through private agreements, but added that at some stage the buyer would have to submit the deal to the land registry.

On Wednesday, the director of the land registry, Andreas Christodoulou, categorically denied there were any official property transfers.

He did say, however, that a small number of Greek Cypriot properties in the north had been sold to other Greek Cypriots, but did not elaborate.

An application last month by a Greek Cypriot who wanted to sell five plots of land in occupied Kyrenia to a British company had been forwarded to the Interior Ministry, which would have the final say, Christodoulou said.

The Attorney-general suggested that the people who brought the issue to the fore were doing the country a disservice.

It was a serious matter, but there should not be an impression that all was lost, Clerides said.

The owner is the person registered in the land registry archives and has a title, the Attorney-general said.

He said sooner or later anyone who had bought the land would have to register it and if the transaction was illegal then there was a risk of the buyers losing their money.

Members of the governing coalition have condemned those selling their properties.

AKEL leader Demetris Christophias warned that they were “digging the Greek Cypriot community’s grave”, while his EDEK counterpart Yiannakis Omirou suggested that they endangered the course towards a solution of the Cyprus problem.

[turkcyp]

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