Cyprus-Forum.com

[eracles]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4724319.stm

A ban on bus adverts for holidays in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus has been overturned by the High Court.
Judge Mr Justice Newman said Transport for London's (TfL) decision was "irrational" and awarded legal costs to the North Cyprus Tourism Centre (NCTC).

TfL banned the posters saying some Greek Cypriots, angry at the 1974 Turkish invasion, found them offensive.

But Mr Justice Newman said it "carried no political message" and ruled the ban was disproportionate.

The poster, carried on London buses in 2004, showed a family on a beach below the Crusader and Venetian fortress at Kyrenia.

It featured the strapline: "Pure Mediterranean...North Cyprus...A sanctuary of unspoilt beauty".



In March TfL turned down a request from NCTC to re-run the advertisement, saying they were likely to cause widespread or serious offence.

But the judge said it was not the content of the poster that caused complaint, but the website it advertised, which described the NCTC as "the UK representative office of the North Cyprus Tourism Ministry".

Internationally, only Turkey recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which funds the tourism centre.

But the judge said : "I cannot accept that a prospective holidaymaker would read the website and understand it to have stated that TRNC has been recognised by Her Majesty's government as a state having power over North Cyprus.

"No offensive product or service was offered by this advertisement, which merely illustrated the cultural and environmental delights of northern Cyprus."

'Politically-motivated'

NCTC director Yilmaz Kalfaoglu said he was pleased with the decision.

"We always felt that the refusal by Transport for London was a politically-motivated decision and an infringement on the rights of a UK-registered company to advertise a holiday destination," he said.

A TfL spokesman said it would be "reviewing its decision in accordance with the guidance given by the court as soon as reasonably practicable."

Many Greek Cypriots claim the properties they were driven from after the Turkish invasion are being used as holiday homes.

The northern part of the island has been partitioned since Turkish troops landed there 31 years ago. About 160,000 Greek Cypriots fled south or were expelled a year later.

[erolz]

Thanks for finding and posting this update eracles.

I have to say as a TC this is clearly a welcome result

[Khan]

I've been waiting for the result of this for a while, i'm very pleased. Good to see TC's fighting fire with fire.

[Viewpoint]

Great Result, well done North Cyprus Tourism Centre (NCTC) for pursuing this matter and obtaining this decision to overturn the decision banning our advertisements...

"Pure Mediterranean...North Cyprus...A sanctuary of unspoilt beauty".

[donyork]

Well obviously I came in late into this topic. But hurrah for British justice. And well done all those who were involved in challenging what has now been formally declared to be an unlawful attempt to ban a legitimate activity. A great victory for Northern Cyprus, but a greater victory for the law over those who think that for their own political ends they can disregard it. Greek Cypriots can play whatever games they like within their own borders, but the message from the High Court is that they do not play them on our patch. Those who scream protests may do so, but they have lost. The only headache for Londoners is that they are now nursing an immediate bill for £50,000 with more to come. Why should they have to pay for a political scam by the South and its apologists? Perhaps the best solution now is that London Transport gives Northern Cyprus free advertising to the amount of costs ultimately to be assessed, which would then not cost Londoners anything. Bus posters for example. Perhaps bus posters which remind people that much of the land in the South has been expropriated without compensation of any kind to their original owners but which at the same time encourage tourism — let us be magnanimous —to the South as well as to the North.

Why not something like Fly Larnaca — Fly Turkish.

[erolz]

Perhaps the best solution now is that London Transport gives Northern Cyprus free advertising to the amount of costs ultimately to be assessed, which would then not cost Londoners anything. Bus posters for example.

Hi Don and welcome back. Just a small point but any free advertising would also cost londoners - it would cost them the lost revenue that Tfl would have got if the advertising had been paid for

[fi]

Well personally I don't have a problem with TC advertising and I'm happy that they'll be better off financially and that their getting tourists to come to our island and appreaciate our beauties.

However I don't agree that it's a "GC plot", hehehehe that's hilarious, it's just from my view that many of the GC that live in London were refugees from 74' and many of them lost their properties, lived the horror of the invasion and left with nothing for the U.K. This advertisments bring back memories to them and their reaction is normal.

On the subject of US senators landing in Ercan. The airport is indeed illegal and altough people don't like it that how things are and US should have more respect on internattional law and not bend it when they want to.

Also exploiting other peoples property is illegal and against U.N. resolutions. People we like it or not the law is the law and TC should not try to brake it and invite other people to do so too.

Also I see many instances of lies by Tasos Papadopoulos, well TC politicians have lied so many times don't get caught on something. Read both stories!

[donyork]

erolz — you are quite right. Damn it, Londoners will have to pay for even free advertising. So clearly that’s out of the window. Ah well, at least he got stuffed.

[erolz]

also reported here

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.ph ... 1&cat_id=1

[erolz]

Off topic posts that are imo not related to the removal of the tfl ban but are wider issues brought out from the topic of this thread have be moved to here http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3020

Post relating to moderation decsions have been removed