Turkish daily Hurriyet published a front page a report saying that the proposal on the property issue submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side was discussed and finalized during a summit in Turkey on June 18 attended by Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek.
The paper says describes the proposals as a “golden formula” to solve the property issue and says this opening package shocked both the Greek Cypriots and the United Nations.
It says that President Gul congratulated those involved in the preparation of the package, which is based on mutual gain with Cyprus becoming one massive construction site, representing the largest urban development in the world, while creating the funds necessary to support a solution.
The formula replies to the Greek Cypriot question of who will pay for the difference in property values if they agree to an exchange of properties between Greek Cypriot-owned land in the north and Turkish Cypriot properties in the south, with the answer being to allow for mass development on large plots of land administered by a property commission, staffed by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
Large plots of Turkish Cypriot land, such as in Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos, and would gain value after their “urban development”, and potentially raise enough funds for compensation to be provided to the displaced Greek Cypriots.
Theoretically, this is feasible as the Turkish Cypriot side claims to be in possession of nearly all Turkish Cypriot title deeds south of the buffer zone after a policy whereby they exchanged them for the property of Greek Cypriots left behind in the north.
This proposal would work on the assumption that Turkish Cypriots will not seek to return to their homes in villages and towns in Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos.
Another controversial component of the formula is that the title deeds of Varosha will also be included in the mix.
Hurriyet also reported that Greek Cypriots will be allowed to return to empty properties in the north immediately. Those that do not accept will be offered plots of public land or land owned by the church or Muslim charitable foundation Evkaf. The Turkish proposal reportedly stipulates that Greek Cypriots returning to their properties “will not exceed 15 per cent of the Turkish population there”
The Cyprus Mail quotes a source close to the negotiations as saying that Turkish Cypriot-owned property in the government-controlled areas has a “trapped value” which has potential to rise. Rather than seeking permission from 20 land owners, for example, to develop on their properties, this proposal entails putting the land under one authority, the Property Development Corporation (PDC), which can then administer it accordingly, facilitating a programme of redevelopment and rehabilitation.
The proposal, for which the Turkish side cannot take full credit, given the impetus of UN experts in the talks, creates a situation whereby Turkish Cypriot-owned land in the south can be developed relatively easily and with much greater prospects for increasing its value exponentially. Any development should be based on environmental criteria to be agreed.
The PDC will have a range of options before it, including the power and funds to compensate, reinstate or relocate refugees. A feasible exchange of properties deals at least with one third of the property issue. Then there is the question of the level of restitution as well as the debate over the levels of compensation.
According to the source, one idea is to make Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots invest in property across the island, along with Greece and Turkey, thereby, making all parties invest in the federation. If successful, this would translate into real progress on the property chapter while making a solution more economically attractive.
Golden formula on property
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Golden formula on property
by halil » Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:58 am
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by SKI-preo » Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:31 am
This is a barbaric proposal:
who decides which Greek Cypriots make up the "15%"?The Turkish proposal reportedly stipulates that Greek Cypriots returning to their properties “will not exceed 15 per cent of the Turkish population there”
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by B25 » Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:00 am
This is totally anti EU, free movement of people. So Turkey and the 'trnc' no longer want in, in the EU??
irrespective of that, they can get stuffed, we cannot accept such racists discriminations in the 21st centuary.
Gamoto!
irrespective of that, they can get stuffed, we cannot accept such racists discriminations in the 21st centuary.
Gamoto!
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by halil » Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:07 am
most of the papers are full up with interesting comments on new proposals... here is the another one .... copy paste with no comment.
Turkish Cypriots submit property proposal to break deadlock in talks
Saturday,
September 18, 2010
By Dominic Freeman
Turkish Cypriot President, Dervis Eroglu, on 6th September submitted property proposals intended to break the deadlock on the issue. The plans would turn Cyprus into a massive construction site, the largest urban development in the world, which would generate the money necessary to support a solution. This plan is in response to the Greek Cypriot insistence that the difference in property values would mean that land could not be exchanged in a ration of 1:1. The Turkish Cypriot’s cunning plan assumes that these huge development on Turkish Cypriot land in the south would make it equal in value to the Greek Cypriot land in the north.
The land would be administered by a property commission, similar to the one in the north. The Property Development Corporation (PDC) would be staffed by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The PDC, like the IPC, would have the power and funds to compensate, reinstate or relocate refugees. The Turkish Cypriot side claims “to be in possession of nearly all Turkish Cypriot title deeds south of the buffer zone.” This was made possible when the TRNC was founded and Turkish Cypriots in the north were offered Greek Cypriot property in exchange for their title deeds for property in the south.
It is also reported that Greek Cypriots will be allowed to immediately return to empty properties in the north but that the number “will not exceed 15 per cent of the Turkish population there. Another controversial element of the plan is that the title deeds of Varosha will also be included.
Turkish Cypriot leader warns he is serious about year’s end deadline
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Derviş Eroğlu has vowed that time is fast running out for the settlement of the issue of the divided island of Cyprus and said back-to-back meetings with Greek Cypriot leaders have failed to produce any concrete results which satisfy both communities -- sentiments felt in Turkey also.
“I think we have no choice but to seriously evaluate our own options on whether to carry on with talks forever -- for the sake of talking -- or to stop lying to ourselves and start considering other options if we have no solution by the end of this year,” he said in an interview with Today’s Zaman on Saturday.
Though he declined to specify what “plan B” would entail in the case of the ultimate failure of the UN-sponsored talks, many observers believe that it would involve partition, and eventual separation -- with two independent states on the tiny island. Turkey already signaled it would support alternative options if talks do not yield results by the year’s end.
Eroğlu emphasized that the UN special envoy to Cyprus, Alexander Downer, has a forthcoming report -- to be presented to the UN secretary-general in November -- on the talks’ progress and stressed that the report would be a crucial milestone in determining the options available to Turkish Cypriots. “Greek Cypriots have not offered anything new to the solution of problems we are trying to settle, such as property, compensation, power sharing issues -- and they are repeating the same basic line of repackaged old offers, which, I fear, have the ultimate aim of isolating the Turkish community on the island” he said.
Eroğlu warned that the fatigue and frustration over the failure to find a solution further complicated his efforts to continue down the negotiations track, as the public had grown weary of endless, fruitless talks. “In 2004, Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly accepted the Annan plan, hoping the issue would be settled once and for all, even though the terms were not favorable to the Turks. That chance was missed because of the Greek Cypriots, who rejected to the plan. If we have another public referendum today, most Turks will reject a similar proposal because they simply do not believe in the sincerity of the Greeks,” he explained.
The Turkish leader made it clear that Greek Cypriots had not brought forward any “new proposals” regarding reunifying the island under the ongoing Cyprus reunification talks, mediated by the UN since September 2008. “Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias has basically repeated the same proposals over and over, and these have represented nothing new,” Eroğlu pointed out.
The veteran politician, who said he had an excellent working relationship with the Turkish leadership in Ankara, acknowledged Turkish support to the settlement and said Turkey’s guarantees were very important to the Turks living on the island. “We still have bitter memories of the past during which many Turks suffered, some got killed and others went missing. But at the same time we are trying to forget this past, unlike the Greek Cypriots who still portray Turks as monsters in school textbooks,” he said.
Eroğlu’s concerns about the deadlock of talks and the approaching end-of-year deadline were also shared with Ankara during his first official visit to Ankara in June, after his election as the Turkish Cypriot president. Turkish President Abdullah Gül suggested that the Turkish Cypriot state -- recognized only by Turkey -- could function as an independent state if talks did not produce results. “The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a country that has proven itself. It has a democracy that has proven its maturity and its economy is growing stronger,” he said.
In July, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said the talks could not go on forever and demanded a solution by end of the year. He warned that the failure to reach a settlement by then could lead to the partitioning of the island. “We seek a solution by the end of 2010. However, if this cannot be achieved, everyone will go their separate ways,” Çiçek said during a visit to the island.
Committed to talks, but not forever
Cyprus was divided in 1974 when the Turkish military intervened to stop the bloodshed on the island following a Greek military junta-backed coup in Cyprus. Since then, numerous rounds of UN-sponsored negotiations based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation have ended in failure and observers think that another collapse could prompt the UN to abandon its mediation role, possibly leading to the island’s permanent partition.
Dismissing claims that he was a separatist and simply had no interest in reconciliation, Eroğlu said he picked up from where his predecessor left off and has kept negotiating through UN mediation. “Their plan was to portray me as a hard-liner who has no real interest in talks. That backfired as I kept dealing with the most difficult problems, like the settlement of property issues. We have put forward concrete and very technical, detailed plans to solve property issues, in line with the Annan plan and rulings by the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR]. But they rejected these proposals and insisted on returning properties to former owners after 35 years had passed -- and the facts had changed on the ground.”
The Greek camp argues that the former property owners have exclusive rights to land, even if their properties were developed by Turks on empty fields. If the Greek proposal was accepted, owners of 30-40 unit apartment complexes would become tenants in their own homes or have to leave their homes. “This is simply not acceptable and the ECtHR recognized that,” Eroğlu said, adding that any such agreement would be flatly rejected by the Turkish Cypriots in the referendum. Turkey, along with the Turkish Cypriots, have advanced a new plan that could see idle and unusable properties renovated by establishing a construction company very much like the successful Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ), which could eventually lead to some kind of settlement -- though specific details are not yet forthcoming. “The plan was positively received by the UN and was appreciated,” Eroğlu said, noting the value of Turkish Cypriot’s properties in the south and properties of Greek Cypriots, for example those in a suburb of Famagusta called Varosha (Maraş in Turkish), will increase.
EU should make up for its mistake
Briefing about the recent talks he held with the EU officials in Brussels last week, the Turkish Cypriot leader said the EU leaders had increasingly recognized the mistake that was made in 2004 by accepting a portion of the island into the EU -- even though the Greek Cypriot side rejected the UN plan. He said, “One of the leaders I met with told me that the Greek Cypriots had tricked the EU into accepting the partitioned island by pretending that they would accept the Annan plan.”
“Now it is up to the EU to fulfill its pledge to resume direct trade with the KKTC,” he said, while recalling his country was doing business directly with the 12-member EU until 1994 -- when an EU court ruling annulled previous trade links. In 2004, the EU unveiled a plan to ease the isolation of the northern side by resuming direct trade with the Turkish north but never implemented it due to the Greek Cypriots veto. “I do not think resumption of trade warrants any concession from us, nor from Turkey -- like opening up Turkey’s ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus,” Eroğlu noted.
20 September 2010, Monday
ABDULLAH BOZKURT LEFKOŞA
Turkish Cypriots submit property proposal to break deadlock in talks
Saturday,
September 18, 2010
By Dominic Freeman
Turkish Cypriot President, Dervis Eroglu, on 6th September submitted property proposals intended to break the deadlock on the issue. The plans would turn Cyprus into a massive construction site, the largest urban development in the world, which would generate the money necessary to support a solution. This plan is in response to the Greek Cypriot insistence that the difference in property values would mean that land could not be exchanged in a ration of 1:1. The Turkish Cypriot’s cunning plan assumes that these huge development on Turkish Cypriot land in the south would make it equal in value to the Greek Cypriot land in the north.
The land would be administered by a property commission, similar to the one in the north. The Property Development Corporation (PDC) would be staffed by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The PDC, like the IPC, would have the power and funds to compensate, reinstate or relocate refugees. The Turkish Cypriot side claims “to be in possession of nearly all Turkish Cypriot title deeds south of the buffer zone.” This was made possible when the TRNC was founded and Turkish Cypriots in the north were offered Greek Cypriot property in exchange for their title deeds for property in the south.
It is also reported that Greek Cypriots will be allowed to immediately return to empty properties in the north but that the number “will not exceed 15 per cent of the Turkish population there. Another controversial element of the plan is that the title deeds of Varosha will also be included.
Turkish Cypriot leader warns he is serious about year’s end deadline
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Derviş Eroğlu has vowed that time is fast running out for the settlement of the issue of the divided island of Cyprus and said back-to-back meetings with Greek Cypriot leaders have failed to produce any concrete results which satisfy both communities -- sentiments felt in Turkey also.
“I think we have no choice but to seriously evaluate our own options on whether to carry on with talks forever -- for the sake of talking -- or to stop lying to ourselves and start considering other options if we have no solution by the end of this year,” he said in an interview with Today’s Zaman on Saturday.
Though he declined to specify what “plan B” would entail in the case of the ultimate failure of the UN-sponsored talks, many observers believe that it would involve partition, and eventual separation -- with two independent states on the tiny island. Turkey already signaled it would support alternative options if talks do not yield results by the year’s end.
Eroğlu emphasized that the UN special envoy to Cyprus, Alexander Downer, has a forthcoming report -- to be presented to the UN secretary-general in November -- on the talks’ progress and stressed that the report would be a crucial milestone in determining the options available to Turkish Cypriots. “Greek Cypriots have not offered anything new to the solution of problems we are trying to settle, such as property, compensation, power sharing issues -- and they are repeating the same basic line of repackaged old offers, which, I fear, have the ultimate aim of isolating the Turkish community on the island” he said.
Eroğlu warned that the fatigue and frustration over the failure to find a solution further complicated his efforts to continue down the negotiations track, as the public had grown weary of endless, fruitless talks. “In 2004, Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly accepted the Annan plan, hoping the issue would be settled once and for all, even though the terms were not favorable to the Turks. That chance was missed because of the Greek Cypriots, who rejected to the plan. If we have another public referendum today, most Turks will reject a similar proposal because they simply do not believe in the sincerity of the Greeks,” he explained.
The Turkish leader made it clear that Greek Cypriots had not brought forward any “new proposals” regarding reunifying the island under the ongoing Cyprus reunification talks, mediated by the UN since September 2008. “Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias has basically repeated the same proposals over and over, and these have represented nothing new,” Eroğlu pointed out.
The veteran politician, who said he had an excellent working relationship with the Turkish leadership in Ankara, acknowledged Turkish support to the settlement and said Turkey’s guarantees were very important to the Turks living on the island. “We still have bitter memories of the past during which many Turks suffered, some got killed and others went missing. But at the same time we are trying to forget this past, unlike the Greek Cypriots who still portray Turks as monsters in school textbooks,” he said.
Eroğlu’s concerns about the deadlock of talks and the approaching end-of-year deadline were also shared with Ankara during his first official visit to Ankara in June, after his election as the Turkish Cypriot president. Turkish President Abdullah Gül suggested that the Turkish Cypriot state -- recognized only by Turkey -- could function as an independent state if talks did not produce results. “The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a country that has proven itself. It has a democracy that has proven its maturity and its economy is growing stronger,” he said.
In July, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said the talks could not go on forever and demanded a solution by end of the year. He warned that the failure to reach a settlement by then could lead to the partitioning of the island. “We seek a solution by the end of 2010. However, if this cannot be achieved, everyone will go their separate ways,” Çiçek said during a visit to the island.
Committed to talks, but not forever
Cyprus was divided in 1974 when the Turkish military intervened to stop the bloodshed on the island following a Greek military junta-backed coup in Cyprus. Since then, numerous rounds of UN-sponsored negotiations based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation have ended in failure and observers think that another collapse could prompt the UN to abandon its mediation role, possibly leading to the island’s permanent partition.
Dismissing claims that he was a separatist and simply had no interest in reconciliation, Eroğlu said he picked up from where his predecessor left off and has kept negotiating through UN mediation. “Their plan was to portray me as a hard-liner who has no real interest in talks. That backfired as I kept dealing with the most difficult problems, like the settlement of property issues. We have put forward concrete and very technical, detailed plans to solve property issues, in line with the Annan plan and rulings by the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR]. But they rejected these proposals and insisted on returning properties to former owners after 35 years had passed -- and the facts had changed on the ground.”
The Greek camp argues that the former property owners have exclusive rights to land, even if their properties were developed by Turks on empty fields. If the Greek proposal was accepted, owners of 30-40 unit apartment complexes would become tenants in their own homes or have to leave their homes. “This is simply not acceptable and the ECtHR recognized that,” Eroğlu said, adding that any such agreement would be flatly rejected by the Turkish Cypriots in the referendum. Turkey, along with the Turkish Cypriots, have advanced a new plan that could see idle and unusable properties renovated by establishing a construction company very much like the successful Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ), which could eventually lead to some kind of settlement -- though specific details are not yet forthcoming. “The plan was positively received by the UN and was appreciated,” Eroğlu said, noting the value of Turkish Cypriot’s properties in the south and properties of Greek Cypriots, for example those in a suburb of Famagusta called Varosha (Maraş in Turkish), will increase.
EU should make up for its mistake
Briefing about the recent talks he held with the EU officials in Brussels last week, the Turkish Cypriot leader said the EU leaders had increasingly recognized the mistake that was made in 2004 by accepting a portion of the island into the EU -- even though the Greek Cypriot side rejected the UN plan. He said, “One of the leaders I met with told me that the Greek Cypriots had tricked the EU into accepting the partitioned island by pretending that they would accept the Annan plan.”
“Now it is up to the EU to fulfill its pledge to resume direct trade with the KKTC,” he said, while recalling his country was doing business directly with the 12-member EU until 1994 -- when an EU court ruling annulled previous trade links. In 2004, the EU unveiled a plan to ease the isolation of the northern side by resuming direct trade with the Turkish north but never implemented it due to the Greek Cypriots veto. “I do not think resumption of trade warrants any concession from us, nor from Turkey -- like opening up Turkey’s ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus,” Eroğlu noted.
20 September 2010, Monday
ABDULLAH BOZKURT LEFKOŞA
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by shahmaran » Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:08 pm
B25 wrote:This is totally anti EU, free movement of people. So Turkey and the 'trnc' no longer want in, in the EU??
irrespective of that, they can get stuffed, we cannot accept such racists discriminations in the 21st centuary.
Gamoto!
France is kicking out EU citizens for being gypsies.
You going to kick them out of the EU as well?
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by B25 » Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:16 pm
shahmaran wrote:B25 wrote:This is totally anti EU, free movement of people. So Turkey and the 'trnc' no longer want in, in the EU??
irrespective of that, they can get stuffed, we cannot accept such racists discriminations in the 21st centuary.
Gamoto!
France is kicking out EU citizens for being gypsies.
You going to kick them out of the EU as well?
Thats a bollocks comparison, unless you are saying all turks are Gypsies??
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B25 - Main Contributor
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