Cyprus-Forum.com

[Jerry]

This is what the Daily Telegraph has to say on the matter:-

Linda and David Orams, from Hove in Sussex, lost a long legal battle against Meletios Apostolides, who owns the land their £160,000 holiday home stands on. Thousands of Greek Cypriots were forced out of Northern Cyprus when Turkish troops intervened in 1974 to prevent the island from being united with mainland Greece.

The European judges have ruled that British courts must enforce the judicial decisions made in Cyprus which uphold the property rights of Greek Cypriots who were forced out of the northern half of the island.


The judgment, on Tuesday, gives a green light to demolition orders and compensation claims against some 4,000 British property owners in Northern Cyprus. Marian Stokes, the founder of the Northern Cyprus Homebuyers' pressure group, described the ruling as "absolutely gutting". She said: "It's so sad, because people stand to lose so much money. We did not think they would rule this way. We bought our land in good faith. It was usually marketed and sold in the UK, so you presume everything is ok. The implications for land ownership and conflict claims are staggering across Europe."

In 2005 a court on the Greek Cypriot side of the green line in Nicosia, the divided capital, ordered the Orams to tear down their holiday home and return the land to Mr Apostolides, along with damanges. His family were forced out during the war 35 years ago.

Mr Apostolides went to the Court of Appeal in London in 2006 to have the Cypriot judgment recognised in Britain. British judges then turned for guidance to the European Court of Justice.

Lawyers for Mr Apostolides successfully argued that since both Britain and Cyprus are both European Union member states, the ruling in Nicosia was enforceable in British courts.

"I think people who have got property in the occupied north, which didn't belong to those who gave it to them, should seek solid legal independent advice," said Constantis Candounas, the lawyer who represented Mr Apostolides. "It opens the way for the judgment of the Cyprus court to be enforced in the UK. It means that eventually my client will have a means to enforce the decision."

The case now returns to the Court of Appeal and one legal sources confirmed that British judges must "recognise and enforce the judgment", adding: "How they do it is up to them, it could be by compensation". In theory, the Orams could have their home in Britain seized.

Embargoed, a Turkish Cypriot human rights group, accused the European court of a "biased" and "politically charged judgment" which could complicate the peace talks designed to reunite the island.

"The decision could be a fatal blow for unification efforts," said Ergin Balli, the group's legal spokesman.

[denizaksulu]

An excerpt from Tümay Tuğyan's column in today's Yeni Düzen (my translation):

http://www.yeniduzengazetesi.com/templa ... &zoneid=19

We are responsible for the property question coming to this point.
For 35 years we have made mistake after mistake; failed time and time again to learn the lessons of the likes of Loizidou, Arestis, Demades, carried on with our noses in the air rather than putting an end to the plunder of Greek Cypriot property
Perhaps the construction sector was putting money into the economy, but this was not the most important thing.
Maybe, for example, we could have adopted a position that would have enabled us to an extent to counter in political terms the legal consequences of such lawsuits supported by the Greek Cypriot administration, by means of a memorandum preventing the sale of Greek Cypriot property.
But we were incapable of doing this.
We still boldly buy and sell everybody’s land.
And turning a blind eye to such disgraceful acts, we fire back a few pot shots along the lines of, “The Orams judgment will harm the negotiations.”
Instead of saying, “If we do not immediately solve the Cyprus problem, the real problems will start”, we put on a show of bravado and say “Look out. We will mess up the negotiations.”
The game is up, folks!
Time to wake up from our dreams.
Instead of sabotaging the negotiations, it is time to grasp the need to embrace the process more tightly and solve the problem without delay.

Thank you for that Tim. More importantly, what is being said on the mainland?

.


Nothing mentioned on Internet editions of Hurriyet nor Milliyet. Not surprised at all. Perhaps local editions might have something. (on the back page) (or wherever they bury the news)

[Jerry]

An excerpt from Tümay Tuğyan's column in today's Yeni Düzen (my translation):

http://www.yeniduzengazetesi.com/templa ... &zoneid=19

We are responsible for the property question coming to this point.
For 35 years we have made mistake after mistake; failed time and time again to learn the lessons of the likes of Loizidou, Arestis, Demades, carried on with our noses in the air rather than putting an end to the plunder of Greek Cypriot property
Perhaps the construction sector was putting money into the economy, but this was not the most important thing.
Maybe, for example, we could have adopted a position that would have enabled us to an extent to counter in political terms the legal consequences of such lawsuits supported by the Greek Cypriot administration, by means of a memorandum preventing the sale of Greek Cypriot property.
But we were incapable of doing this.
We still boldly buy and sell everybody’s land.
And turning a blind eye to such disgraceful acts, we fire back a few pot shots along the lines of, “The Orams judgment will harm the negotiations.”
Instead of saying, “If we do not immediately solve the Cyprus problem, the real problems will start”, we put on a show of bravado and say “Look out. We will mess up the negotiations.”
The game is up, folks!
Time to wake up from our dreams.
Instead of sabotaging the negotiations, it is time to grasp the need to embrace the process more tightly and solve the problem without delay.

Thank you for that Tim. More importantly, what is being said on the mainland?

.




Nothing mentioned on Internet editions of Hurriyet nor Milliyet. Not surprised at all. Perhaps local editions might have something. (on the back page) (or wherever they bury the news)

Thank you Deniz.
It is quiet isn't it, Cyprus44 seems to have closed down (temporarily?). I reckon they are worried that all the negative postings on that site will do even more harm to the market in the north. I believe it is run by estate agents/developers in that part of the island.

[denizaksulu]

An excerpt from Tümay Tuğyan's column in today's Yeni Düzen (my translation):

http://www.yeniduzengazetesi.com/templa ... &zoneid=19

We are responsible for the property question coming to this point.
For 35 years we have made mistake after mistake; failed time and time again to learn the lessons of the likes of Loizidou, Arestis, Demades, carried on with our noses in the air rather than putting an end to the plunder of Greek Cypriot property
Perhaps the construction sector was putting money into the economy, but this was not the most important thing.
Maybe, for example, we could have adopted a position that would have enabled us to an extent to counter in political terms the legal consequences of such lawsuits supported by the Greek Cypriot administration, by means of a memorandum preventing the sale of Greek Cypriot property.
But we were incapable of doing this.
We still boldly buy and sell everybody’s land.
And turning a blind eye to such disgraceful acts, we fire back a few pot shots along the lines of, “The Orams judgment will harm the negotiations.”
Instead of saying, “If we do not immediately solve the Cyprus problem, the real problems will start”, we put on a show of bravado and say “Look out. We will mess up the negotiations.”
The game is up, folks!
Time to wake up from our dreams.
Instead of sabotaging the negotiations, it is time to grasp the need to embrace the process more tightly and solve the problem without delay.

Thank you for that Tim. More importantly, what is being said on the mainland?

.




Nothing mentioned on Internet editions of Hurriyet nor Milliyet. Not surprised at all. Perhaps local editions might have something. (on the back page) (or wherever they bury the news)

Thank you Deniz.
It is quiet isn't it, Cyprus44 seems to have closed down (temporarily?). I reckon they are worried that all the negative postings on that site will do even more harm to the market in the north. I believe it is run by estate agents/developers in that part of the island.

Nothing surprises me anymore.

[anna-sh]

this is an interesting read...

http://www.brtk.cc/index.php/lang/en/cat/news/48853

[anna-sh]

forgot to say the interesting article is at the bottom of the news list ie, a warning for brits in the north...

[Z4]

On the eve of the ECJ’s announcement of its judgment on the Orams Case, Britain issued a warning to its citizens who own former Greek Cypriot properties in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus that they could face imprisonment.

A statement issued by the British Foreign Ministry warned its citizens who own, sell or rent property in North Cyprus which is not named under the Land Registry Department of the so-called Republic of Cyprus, saying they need to be careful.

A sentence by the so-called Republic of Cyprus can be enforced in the European Union, including the United Kingdom, British officials said.

The statement warned its citizens of imprisonment up to 7 years.

It also warned that the Greek Cypriot authorities will seize any document owned by British citizens who cross the Green Line regarding a property owned in the North.

[denizaksulu]

forgot to say the interesting article is at the bottom of the news list ie, a warning for brits in the north...

Now, there will definitely be a toilet-paper shortage in the North.

[Z4]

Bye bye cowboys!!!

[Oracle]

Is it safer for Brits to stay put in the UK or stay put in the "trnc"?

Surely none of them can risk travelling to-and-fro? .... using legal or illegal airports .....

Will the UK continue to let them draw Pensions?