Stolen Harvest

A group of Turkish settlers accompanied by Turkish troops trespassed into a Greek Cypriot farm today and stole harvested wheat.

The violation of it all eats at you:

Bodies Found in a Mass Grave

The eight coffins with remains of Ioannis, 77, Christina, 68, Michalis Michael, 42, Margarita, 48, with her daughters Eleni, 25, Cristina, 23, and Iliada, 18, and the two year old Loukas, are seen in a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral service in Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, March 8, 2009. The remains of Liassis and Michael family were discovered in a mass grave near the village of Palekythro where they, according to eyewitness accounts, were killed during the 1974 Turkish invasion.

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.

Flamingo birds standing in shallow water

(Click on Image to enlarge)

Flamingos stand in a salt lake in coastal town of Larnaca, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, March 1, 2009. The salt lake in Larnaca is a popular stopping-point on the migration routes of more than 300 species of birds. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)