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.

Legal problems with Northern Cyprus property

(Times Online) - Following a ruling by the European court, British owners face huge damages

Kasia Maciejowska

Britons who bought holiday homes in Northern Cyprus may be forced to pay thousands of pounds in damages to the original Greek Cypriot owners of the land, following a ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The judgment, expected later this year, will conclude a case that began in 2005, when a Cypriot court ordered a British couple, Linda and David Orams, to demolish their villa to pay compensation to Meledis Apostolides — the Greek Cypriot legal owner of the land. Like many other Britons, the Orams bought the land from Turkish Cypriots who took ownership illegally following the Turkish invasion of 1974, when an estimated 170,000 Greek Cypriots fled their homes. The case was referred to the EU court after the Orams opposed the ruling. The Advocate General, whose opinion is usually followed, has backed the Greek Cypriots. If this opinion is upheld, damages to the dispossessed population could be enforced against any assets owned elsewhere in the EU by non-Greek property owners.

Cypriot Dams Still Low Despite Rain

Kalavasos Dam / Cyprus: Extremely low water level at Kalavasos dam. Video taken on Thu Feb 19, 2009 5:34 PM (+2 GMT).

A rainy week has failed to have a major impact on Cyprus' overall water storage and officials are warning that a lot more rain has to fall to ease a chronic water shortage. At this moment, 40 million cubic metres of water has been collected in the reservoirs, which equates to 13.5% of their total capacity.