Cyprus-Forum.com

[boomerang]

Just to recap on 2 stories that surfaced, in the tc and gc newspapers...

Turkish Cypriots look to Ottoman archives in land bid
By Simon Bahceli

OTTOMAN archives compiled in Cyprus between the sixteenth century and British rule could provide the Turkish Cypriot side with ammunition to counter Greek Cypriot property claims in the north, it was claimed yesterday.

The revelations were made by the Turkish-language daily Star and were confirmed by an anonymous source close to the Turkish Cypriot authorities who told the Cyprus Mail, “A group of foreign experts have been working on a report [based on archival material]. Some of the findings will give strength to the Turkish Cypriot position on properties”.

Although the source did not confirm details, the Star’s article claimed some 100 experts had been combing Ottoman archives since 2005. The Ottomans ruled the island for over 300 years from 1571 until 1878. The experts, it said, had compiled a 250-volume report entitled ‘Cyprus Land and Property’. It also said the report’s findings would “come as a shock to those Greek Cypriots trying to extract money and land from north Cyprus” and that the shock would be delivered when Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat unveiled the report at a news conference next week.
The Cyprus Mail was unable to confirm yesterday whether Talat would indeed be hosting such a media event. Rather, a source within the administration said it was yet undecided how or when the report would be used.

“No such political decision has been made,” the source said, adding that the report was seen as a “supportive element” in ongoing negotiations for a settlement with the Greek Cypriot side, rather than as evidence that would be used in court to justify Turkish Cypriot possession of Greek Cypriot properties in the north.

“Sometimes you have a document that you use only for political purposes. To put such things before a court, you first have to be sure there are no inconsistencies. If there are, these can weaken your argument,” it said.

The source added, however, that political factors could sometimes be used to influence a court decision – a factor especially true in Cyprus’ case.

Commenting on the prospect of Turkish Cypriot property lawyers and negotiators taking such a tack, Greek Cypriot lawyer Achilleas Demetriades told the Cyprus Mail that such an approach was known as the “Evkaf approach” and was not new. It had already been used by Turkish lawyers, he said, during a case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in which his Greek Cypriot client Myra Xenides-Arestis had sought to regain possession of her property from Turkey in the fenced-off area of Varosha, near Famagusta.

Evkaf is the umbrella organisation that oversees the running of all Turkish Cypriot religious foundations in Cyprus and is said to own vast amounts of land and property.

The Evkaf approach, however, “was dismissed by the court,” Demetriades said. Turkey was ordered to pay Arestis €850,000 in compensation for denying her access to her property.

The Greek Cypriot lawyer added, however, that if there was basis to the Evkaf argument, its claims “do not lie against the Greek Cypriot owners but perhaps against the colonial powers, namely the UK”.

Prior to gaining independence from Britain, Demetriades said, “Britian paid over one million pounds to the Turkish Cypriot community [their leaders] in full and final settlement of all claims that the Turkish Cypriot community may have had to [Vakif] properties”.
He added that a possible use of the archival information would be for Turkey to open an interstate case against the UK for having illegally disenfranchised the Turkish Cypriots of large amounts of public property.

“That would be a very interesting case to follow,” he said.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

[07] KIBRISLI publishes documents proving that all the compensation rights regarding the Evkaf foundation's property were denounced in 1959; Denktas and the Director of the Evkaf try to declare this information to be untrue
Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRISLI newspaper (08 and 09.10.03) publishes a document both in English and Turkish languages proving that the Turkish Cypriot community had renounced in 1959 all its compensation rights regarding the property of Evkaf religious foundation. Under the document are the signatures of the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas and the late Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus Fazil Kucuk.
Under the title 'Our people did not deserve this', the paper wrote, inter alia, the following yesterday on the issue: 'With an agreement they made with the colonial administration, they donated to the British all the compensation rights of our people regarding the Evkaf property.

They signed that the Turkish Cypriot community would not demand compensations in return for one million and five hundred thousand sterling pounds. Now they are claiming that they would appeal to court and demand their rights.

It was decided that five hundred thousand pounds would be deposited into an account in 'Turk Bankasi' in the name of Kucuk and Denktas as 'urgent' needs. The two leaders noted in the answering letter they had written that they were accepting the proposal.

In the letter he wrote, the British governor asked (from the two leaders to accept) the commitment that no financial claims would be raised in the name of the Turkish community and the Evkaf. The leaders gave this commitment in return of one and a half million sterling pounds. Meanwhile, it was alleged that Dr. Kucuk did not want to sign this document, but he had been convinced by Denktas. '

Taner Dervis claims in the name of Evkaf that the compensations regarding the Evkaf property only in the closed Varosha area reach 74 billion dollars. The documents published on Genc TV's 'Konusma Zamani' (translator's note: Time to Talk) programme shocked 'TRNC' People are waiting for a statement by Denktas on the issue. '.

Meanwhile, according to Turkish Cypriot daily HALKIN SESI newspaper (09. 10.03), talking yesterday at a joint press conference, the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas and the director of Evkaf foundation, Taner Dervis argued that in the agreement signed with the British government it was noted that the claim of Evkaf for compensations regarding its property from the Cyprus Republic had not ceased to exist.

Mr Denktas described the information published in KIBRISLI as 'material for the Greek Cypriots' and added that he could file charges against the paper because of its accusations against him. Mr Denktas distributed also to the journalists a copy of an extract from Ahmet Gazioglu's (Translator's note: Mr Gazioglu is one of Mr Denktas' advisors) book regarding Evkaf. The Turkish Cypriot leader argued also that the 1.5 million sterling pounds were a donation of the British government to the Turkish Cypriot community, as a result of Mr Kucuk and himself. Mr Denktas said that the aid of Britain had been used for the purposes it was given and mainly for Evkaf's immovable property and in the field of education.

Referring to the agreement, Mr Denktas alleged: 'In this document we put our reservations regarding the Evkaf property. That is, Evkaf has not renounced its land. We are not demanding it form the British today. Evkaf has rights before the Greek Cypriots who seized them violently. This is what we are saying'.

Furthermore, Mr Dervis verified the information that the 1.5 million sterling pounds were received by the Turkish Cypriot community and added: 'However, the money was in the category of aid-donation. In return of this money, the Evkaf Administration or any other authority did not renounce its property. In any case, the property of Evkaf could in no way change because of its status, but exchanging it could be discussed'.

Mr Dervis argued that the British had confiscated the property of Evkaf in 1878 and in 1944 they promised that they would pay rent to the foundation. This could be the reason for the donation of the British to the Turkish Cypriot community, clamed Mr Dervis.

Meanwhile, KIBRSILI (09.10.03) writes that Mr Denktas' statements confirmed the information published in the above-mentioned paper and wonders where the text of the agreement is. 'Denktas has hidden from the people the text of the agreement he had signed', argues KIBRISLI adding: 'Instead of this, he tried to present to us as documents the records of the discussions before the agreement and what his advisors wrote based on these records'.

http://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/tcpr/2003/03-10-09.tcpr.html

[boomerang]

The 1,500,000 sterling question, that was indeed a fair amount of maney back in those days, where are they?

we know from the above story that 500,000 styerling was deposited into a special account by the name kucuk and dektash...

1...Where is the 1,000,000 sterling
2...where is the 500,000 sterling

anf further more how did the tc community benefitted out of all this...

Titty man and blind freddy say it was a donation...ok...still what happened to themoney and how did the tcs benefitted out of this "donation"....

I give credence to the story coz if it was untrue
1...Dektash would have shown evidence of expenditure, therefore accountability
2...Dekatsh would have sued over wrong allegations...

Now Dektash did neither...


so where did the money go...

[insan]

Shhh... it's top secret. We can't make it public. It is also related with TC-Brit relations. We can't risk damaging our current relations with Brits. Moreover we can't give any clues in hands of GC leadership, yet. They make too much noise. Maybe a sanitized version of this story could be re-written in near future... maybe. Just be patient and stop hitting ur own head with ur own boomerang otherwise it will keel u over.

[boomerang]

Shhh... it's top secret. We can't make it public. It is also related with TC-Brit relations. We can't risk damaging our current relations with Brits. Moreover we can't give any clues in hands of GC leadership, yet. They make too much noise. Maybe a sanitized version of this story could be re-written in near future... maybe. Just be patient and stop hitting ur own head with ur own boomerang otherwise it will keel u over.

Titty man....I would have thought a man with your intellect would have been interested in finding out...after all it was you that got gang raped by Donkeytosh and Co...

There was no denial the money was given...the question is where or whose pockets did it line...

I am sure some tcs will give us an inside on this...

[bill cobbett]

Would be pretty simple to ask the GB Foreign Office under Freedom of Information legislation for copies of any agreements imo.

Wonder where the money went? I wonder whether Ro ....no better not.

[boomerang]

Would be pretty simple to ask the GB Foreign Office under Freedom of Information legislation for copies of any agreements imo.

Wonder where the money went? I wonder whether Ro ....no better not.

Have you got a website?....not that they will tell us where the money went, but under what conditions it was given for...

As far as the money goes once it was given and judging by the responces we got so far, I think it is pretty obvious this is the first time the tcs ever heard about it...A bloody good con job by Donkeytosh and Co...

[Mr. T]

I guess this means thieving Greek Cypriots have stolen our British land but some expats in the TRNC have got it back again.

[boomerang]

I guess this means thieving Greek Cypriots have stolen our British land but some expats in the TRNC have got it back again.

I think this thread has gone over your head...toilet 5 needs your immediate attention...see to it to...

Another gang raped victim still enjoing the gang rape by Donkeytosh and Co...how sad...

Where is iceman when you need him...

[bill cobbett]

Would be pretty simple to ask the GB Foreign Office under Freedom of Information legislation for copies of any agreements imo.

Wonder where the money went? I wonder whether Ro ....no better not.

Have you got a website?....not that they will tell us where the money went, but under what conditions it was given for...

As far as the money goes once it was given and judging by the responces we got so far, I think it is pretty obvious this is the first time the tcs ever heard about it...A bloody good con job by Donkeytosh and Co...

The Freedom of Info section of the GB FO is at

foi.fco.uk/en

(strange address but it works)

money = tmt = guns ???

[insan]

Shhh... it's top secret. We can't make it public. It is also related with TC-Brit relations. We can't risk damaging our current relations with Brits. Moreover we can't give any clues in hands of GC leadership, yet. They make too much noise. Maybe a sanitized version of this story could be re-written in near future... maybe. Just be patient and stop hitting ur own head with ur own boomerang otherwise it will keel u over.

Titty man....I would have thought a man with your intellect would have been interested in finding out...after all it was you that got gang raped by Donkeytosh and Co...

There was no denial the money was given...the question is where or whose pockets did it line...

I am sure some tcs will give us an inside on this...

I've already told u but ur thick head and illiteracy regarding such relations makes u incapable to comprehend such relations in western alliance. Those were the years when the seeds of globalization had been sowing everywhere under "control" of western alliance. U thick head. U will never be able to comprehend such relations.