ECHR Ruled Turkey had Violated Property Rights

ECHR ruled Tuesday that Turkey had violated the property rights of a Greek Orthodox foundation on the Aegean island of Bozcaada (Tenedos) by seizing its land and ordered the government of Turkey to pay damages.

The ECHR judgment itself is available only in French, but the Court's press release in English can be found here.

A snippet from the Court's press release below:

The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) of the European Convention on Human Rights, on account of the refusal of the Turkish courts to register the immovable property of the applicant foundation in the land register in its name.

Under Article 41 (just satisfaction) of the Convention, the Court awarded the applicant 100,000 euros (EUR) in respect of pecuniary damage and EUR 5,000 for costs and expenses.

Deja vu ... Executing Civilians ... Old habits die hard?

(BBC) - Kurdish 'grave sites' to be dug

By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul

A Turkish prosecutor has ordered the digging up of several sites where it is believed the bodies of Kurds killed in the 1990s may have been dumped.

Hundreds of people disappeared at the height of the fighting in the mainly Kurdish south-east.

Human rights lawyers say many were last seen with security forces members.

The Kurdish conflict, which began in the 1980s when insurgents started fighting for a separate Kurdish state, still continues today.

Close to 40,000 people have been killed.

More than 70 families applied to a prosecutor in the town of Silopi after information emerged suggesting the location of their relatives' bodies.

The prosecutor has ordered the excavation of two old well-shafts behind an abandoned roadside restaurant.

Another site to be dug is on the grounds of a storage facility of the Botash oil company.

Human rights lawyers also want to examine parts of a municipal cemetery where they believe a mass grave of the missing could be found.

Missing politicians

Hundreds of Kurdish civilians have been missing, presumed dead, since the height of the Kurdish conflict in the region in the mid-1990s.

Lawyers began pushing for permission to dig certain sites after a former security officer, now in hiding abroad, gave information about the torture and execution of Kurdish civilians.

They were also boosted by the unprecedented arrest of military members, retired and active, in connection with an alleged plot to topple the government.

Several of the men now in custody were in command in the Kurdish conflict region in the 1990s.

The lawyers argue prosecutors should broaden the scope of that coup trial to include a full investigation of the alleged crimes against the Kurds.

Most recently two politicians disappeared in 2001 after they were called for questioning at the local headquarters of the military police.

In that case and others the European Court of Human Rights found Turkey guilty of violating the right to life, but here in Turkey itself the families of the missing have never found justice - or the bodies of their relatives.

A Killer is a Candidate in the Upcoming "TRNC" Elections

Turkish settler, Kenan Akin, who killed Greek Cypriot Solomos Solomou during an anti occupation buffer zone protest back in 1996 said he would not hesitate to shoot him again. In an interview to a Greek daily, Akin said he would not travel abroad as he won't do anyone a favor and get arrested.

The Turkish settler currently has Interpol and Cyprus police warrants pending against him. He further claimed that the Republic of Cyprus does not have any credible evidence against him, suggesting that his bullet wasn't the one that killed Solomou.

Akin is a candidate in the upcoming illegal parliamentary elections which are to be held in the occupied areas. His running for "parliamentary elections" was mentioned in the Kibris Gazetesi, a Turkish Cypriot newspaper.

An English translation of the relevant excerpts from the Kibris Gazetsi:

KENAN AKIN now ORP candidate: Kenan Akin once a Democratic Party (DP) Minister of Agriculture, is once more in the political arena now. But this time running for parliamentary elections not from DP (Democratic Party) list, but competing at the 5th row from the Freedom and Reform Party (ORP) Magusa (Famagusta) list. According to sources of information, ORP President Turgay Avci is in the 1st row , followed by Deputy Erden Ozaskin in the 2nd row, and ORP Secretary-General Baghdad Sinan in the 3rd place. 4th row in the list is vacant yet while Kenan Akin is at the 5th row. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Tourism Hasan Kiliç's is also reported to be candidate for ORP's Magusa list, while there are talks about Nazmiye Çelebi, a teacher, also running for candidacy from Magusa list. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Coordinator Alper Zorlu's is also rumored to be ORP candidate from Iskele district.

Olgac is being investigated for the killing of 10 Greek Cypriots

An investigation into claims which were later retracted by the Turkish actor, Attila Olgac, that during the 1974 invasion--he personally executed 10 Greek Cypriots in cold blood has been launched by the Istanbul public prosecutor.

The prosecutor has asked the Kanal Turk TV station to hand over the original footage of the talk show interview in which the actor made his claims.

It’s also been disclosed that the public official is planning to subpoena as witnesses the show’s presenters as well, with the outcome of the investigation determining whether or not Attila Olgac will be referred to the Hague war crimes tribunal for trial.

A parallel investigation on Attila Olgac’s actions during the 1974 invasion of Cyprus is being carried out by Turkey’s military.

Utter shock at Turkish star's Cyprus revelations

(Famagusta Gazette) - A popular Turkish television star has revealed how he personally shot dead ten Greek Cypriot soldiers during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

The star, Attila Alkac, made the disturbing claims while being interviewed on a television show in Turkey.

The revelations have sent public opinion in both Cyprus and Turkey reeling, in particular the actor's graphic and clear recollections have left many in shock.

The actor said he first shot dead a 19-year-old prisoner of war, then another nine POWs.

He said said since the killings he has “not been able to stand the sight of blood or eat meat.”

It is thought that he may now be called before the missing persons committee, who describe the revelations as “shocking'.

SECRET/EYES ONLY

The recent release of official State Department documents on Cyprus has sent the Cypriot media a-buzz with none stop talk of Kissinger’s role in the Invasion. I bet the release of these State Department documents barely made coverage in the US media; but here, the topic of discussion on TV, in the press and at the dinner table is the talk of the United States and its backing of the Turkish Invasion. The video clips below are this weeks MEGA documentary on Kissinger's role in the Cyprus invasion. I may, in the near future, update the videos below to include English subtitles; but before I can do this, I need to first familiarize my self with video editing software.

MEGA Documentary Part One


MEGA Documentary Part Two


MEGA Documentary Part Three

Bird Flu Hits Northern Cyprus

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in samples from the occupied northern Cypriot territory, the European Commission said Sunday. The Commission has ordered an immediate freeze on transfer of live animals or animal products across the Attila Line. "The European Commission and the Turkish authorities have been informed by the Community Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza at Weybridge of the high pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in a sample taken from the area not under the effective control of the government of Cyprus."