ECHR awards Greek Cypriots damages due to Turkish occupation

ECHR awards Greek Cypriots damages due to Turkish occupation

Turkey has been ordered to pay thousands of euro in damages to Greek Cypriots for violating their human right to peaceful enjoyment of their property in Cyprus’ northern Turkish occupied areas. 

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday delivered its judgment regarding the allegation by 13 Greek Cypriot applicants (Lordos and Others v. Turkey) that “the Turkish occupation of the northern part of Cyprus following the 1974 conflict had deprived them of their homes and properties”. 

In its judgment today, the Court awarded each of the applicants between EUR 100,000 and EUR 8,000,000 “for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and EUR 15,000 jointly to all applicants for costs and expenses”.

In its principal judgment, delivered on 2 November 2010, the Court held in particular that there had been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) as concerns eight of the applicants and a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) with regard to seven of the applicants.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

Turkey occupied 36,2 percent of the sovereign territory of the Republic and forcibly expelled about 180.000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. Another 20.000 Greek Cypriots, who had remained in the occupied areas, were also forced to eventually abandon their homes and seek refuge in the safety of the government controlled areas. Today, fewer than 500 enclaved Greek Cypriots remain in the occupied areas.

Turkey still deprives the displaced Greek Cypriots of their right to return to their homes and properties. This has given rise to appeals to the European Court of Human Rights, which has issued major decisions on Turkey’s violations of the European Convention.

Noble Energy’s Cyprus Drilling Beat Expectations, Politis Says

(Bloomberg) - The results of Noble Energy Inc. (NBL)’s exploratory drilling for oil and gas in Cyprus’s Block 12, which began in September, exceeded expectations, Politis reported today, without saying where it got the information.

The hydrocarbon reserves in Block 12 are comparable to those of Israel’s Leviathan site or larger, the Nicosia-based newspaper said on its website.

Cyprus before historic decisions for its future

(Famagusta Gazette) - Cyprus will have to take momentous decisions and take bold steps forward, which will potentially mark its course in history and reshape its strategic importance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Erato Kozakou Markoullis said in a speech titled “Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean: Strategic Location, Strategic opportunities” at the Director’s Forum of Woodrow Wilson Center.

Markoullis pointed out that developments in Cyprus will have an effect on its neighbourhood, since Cyprus is now in an unusual position of having greater say in its future, and being in a position to effect change.

“Indeed, a number of important factors appear to be coming together, and if this confluence, this convergence of interests is harnessed properly, the opportunities, for Cyprus, its partners and its neighbours can have enormously positive results”, she said.

Referring to the start of drilling operations by a Republic of Cyprus licensed US company, Noble Energy, within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, in search of natural gas deposits, she said that initial findings have already shown positive results ranging between 3-9 Tcf of natural gas and official estimates are expected by the end of the year.

As regards developments in the discovery of hydrocarbon reservoirs in Israel and Cyprus, she said that they are significant on a number of levels.

“The positive results of the drilling in Israel and the preliminary results in Cyprus prove beyond doubt that the geological surveys and estimates on the presence of large quantities of hydrocarbons in the Levant basin, but also in the area south of Cyprus, have merit”, she said. She added that from an economic point of view the significance is great, since it will imply greater interest by other international companies for the second round of bidding to gain licenses for exploratory drilling in other parts of the Cypriot EEZ, and will also serve as a catalyst for financial investments in Cyprus.

Secondly, she said that once natural gas and possibly also oil are found in quantities and in quality that justifies further investments, this will lead to job creation, something that will also involve directly the economies of Cyprus' neighbours.

Markoullis also said that the momentum that will be created by the sort of investment in infrastructure and financial structures for the servicing of the energy industry, will serve as a catalyst towards greater cooperation among neighbours.

“The possibility of joint exploitation between the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and the launching of joint projects, particularly in areas where the natural gas or petroleum fields fall across the line separating EEZ, not only does exist, but we are promoting this cooperation through Framework Agreements we are currently negotiating with Israel, Egypt and Lebanon concerning the Joint Development and Exploitation of Cross Median Line Hydrocarbons Reservoirs”, she said, adding that this kind of cooperation could become an indispensable tool that has the potential to change the whole political and economic scene of the entire region.

The Cypriot Minister has also expressed the position that hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean will contribute towards greater energy security for Europe.

“As a member state of the EU we have a stake in its success. We believe that potential deposits of hydrocarbons in our Exclusive Economic Zone will benefit Europe, its economy, and by extension its international standing. Therefore, we look forward to cooperating closely with our European partners and linking them to our partners in our immediate neighbourhood, and possibly beyond, in establishing greater energy security, and by extension, broader economic security and stability”, she said.

Referring to bilateral agreements Cyprus has signed with Egypt, Lebanon and Israel for delineating of their Exclusive Economic Zones, she said that these agreements have introduced a new stabilizing dimension to the politics of the region.

The Foreign Minister pointed out that a Cyprus which is a member state of the European Union, a responsible actor within the international system, and which has good and constructive relations with its neighbours can serve as a catalyst for cooperation on the regional level and also offer the necessary platform for greater peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Referring to Turkey’s attitude and behaviour towards Cyprus, she said that the start of exploratory drilling in the Cypriot EEZ sparked a tirade of anger on the part of Turkish leaders, at the highest levels. Markoullis explained that the decisions and actions of the Republic of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources within its EEZ are entirely legal falling within its sovereign rights as recognised by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, all EU member states and by all Permanent and Non-Permanent Members of the UN Security Council.

She referred to “blatant threats of violence and saber rattling which involved Turkish warships and aircraft, air and naval exercises in the sea south of Cyprus, and illegal seismic surveying and seabed mapping, carried out by ships on behalf of Turkey inside our EEZ in blatant violation of Cypriot sovereign rights”. She also mentioned the signing by Turkey of an agreement with its proxy in the occupied part of Cyprus, an agreement which seeks to create the semblance of legality in what cannot possibly be legal.

“But Turkey does not stop there. Its newfound confidence, based on real or imagined successes, its economic growth, and, I am sorry to say, the unbridled support it receives in some countries, has given rise to a neighbourhood bully”, she said.

Markoullis said that Turkey cares very little about the Turkish Cypriots and a great deal about its own selfish interests.

“It is even making claims for an imagined EEZ of its own which in some places borders on the EEZ of Egypt! It would be no exaggeration to say that Turkey is not just violating international law; it is following a conduct in international relations which belongs to another century, before international law was put in place to guide relations between states”, she said.

Reminding Cyprus’ support for Turkey’s European aspirations, she expressed her disappointment when seeing Turkey failing to progress along its European path.

“The negotiation process is not progressing; in fact it has remained frozen, because Turkey is failing to meet the European standards and its commitments to the European Union. It is failing because, like in international law, Turkey wants to dictate its own terms to the European Union”, she said.

“We are hopeful that the Turkey, which aspires to be recognised as a regional if not a global leader, will rise to the occasion. We are hopeful that the Turkish leadership will put aside polemics, diatribes, threats, and adopt a more mild and statesmanlike tone and attitude. We believe that there is room for Turkey to cooperate with its neighbours, out of genuine desire toward common ground and mutual benefit. To do that, Turkey must meet its obligations vis a vis the European Union. It must meet its obligations in terms of international law”, she said.

Referring to the UN-led direct talks for a solution in Cyprus, she said that after three years and 120 direct meetings between the two leaders, there is still no substantive progress on the most crucial issues of the executive powers in the governance chapter, as well as in the refugee, property, territory and citizenship chapters.

She explained that the main stumbling block has all along been the position maintained by the Turkish Cypriot side, fully supported by the Turkish Government, that the goal should not be a federation, in the form of one unbreakable federal state, with a single sovereignty, single international personality and single citizenship, as has been agreed and endorsed by the international community, but a confederal arrangement between two separate states with separate sovereignties.

“Despite the difficulties and obstacles on the way, we continue to persist in our efforts to reunify our country in the form of a bizonal, bicommunal federation”, she said.

She added that the developments from the hydrocarbon discoveries in Cyprus’ EEZ, the prospects for prosperity for all Cypriots once reunification is achieved appear tremendous and should work as a catalyst in the direction of moving forward the talks towards reaching an agreement. She expressed the hope that Turkey, which could significantly benefit from a likely cooperation with a reunited Cyprus in all sectors, but primarily in the energy field, will grasp the message of peace, stability and prosperity.

Hurriyet: Why the Turkish military bombed mosques in Cyprus

Article Below is From The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News
By MUSTAFA AKYOL Dated 9/28/2010 12:00:00 AM

We just learned that our officers bombed mosques in Cyprus to 'raise resistance' against 'enemies without.' We now wonder whether they used similar techniques also against 'enemies within'?

Last week, Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu, a retired Turkish general, said something that shocked the nation. During an interview by Habertürk, a popular news channel, he said that the Turkish military had bombed mosques in Cyprus in the past and put the blame on the Greeks. “Such attacks and sabotages on sacred values are done and portrayed as if the enemy did them,” he explained. “The purpose is to raise the resistance of the people.”

The 82-year-old Yirmibeşoğlu was probably not aware of the possible impact of this revelation, which he made just in passing, as if it were a trivial detail. But since then, the media has hotly debated what the bombed mosque story really is, and what it tells us about the amazing adventures of our military.

[HH]Manufacturing contempt

As Yıldıray Oğur, a columnist in daily Taraf, wrote, the operation the ex-general refers to is probably the bombings of the Bayraktar and Ömeriye mosques in Nicosia on the night of March 24, 1962. The incident, naturally, inflamed Cypriot Turks, who organized demonstrations against the Greeks of the island, who they thought were responsible. (Their “resistance,” in other words, was “raised.”)

A few weeks later, though, a local newspaper run by two Cypriot Turks, Ahmet Muzaffer Gürkan, 38, and Ayhan Hikmet, 35, wrote that the bombings had not been done by Greeks at all. And, lo and behold, these two men were both assassinated on that very same night, on April 23, 1962. (Perhaps we need another talkative ex-general to fully shed light on that part of the story.)

Now, all this, of course, is deeply troubling. It shows that the Turkish military intentionally increased tension between the Turks and Greeks of Cyprus, paving the way for more tragic events in the years to come and the partial occupation of the island by Turkey in 1974. Since then, as you would know, Cyprus has been one of the world’s unsolved problems.

To be sure, this should not mean that only the Turkish side was responsible for the intra-communal violence in Cyprus. The nationalists on the Greek side, organized under the infamous EOKA, or National Organization of Cypriot Fighters, were fanatic and violent, and they killed many innocent Turks. (Who knows, perhaps they had their little tricks to “raise resistance” on their side as well.)

Today, what matters more to me as a Turk is the bitter fact that our military has seen it legitimate to commit false flag terror operations to manipulate the psychology our people. This raises troubling questions:

- If they have done this in Cyprus, have they also done similar things at home?

- If they have bombed places to “raise resistance” against “enemies without,” have they also used similar techniques against “enemies within”?

I don’t want be paranoid. That’s why I often don’t agree with some of my liberal friends who see the fingerprints of the “deep state” in almost every political assassination and social turmoil in recent history. I rather believe that evil is “banal,” and horrible things can happen spontaneously without the need for a “master evildoer.”

But some episodes in our recent history are indeed too suspicious, and Gen. Yirmibeşoğlu’s revelation only makes them more so. Take the Ergenekon case. This controversial trial has many details, but two of its allegations are crucial: that the two terrorist acts in 2006, the bombing of ultra-secularist daily Cumhuriyet (which killed nobody) and the shooting of a secularist judge, were false flag operations to put the blame on “the Islamists.”

These two attacks certainly “raised resistance” among the country’s secular-minded masses against the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government, which the Ergenekon folks clearly wanted to overthrow. So, if these two acts were “operations” of the type that Gen. Yirmibeşoğlu spoke about, than we should grant that they were successful ones. Otherwise, they were just extremely lucky coincidences. I now find the first option even more credible.

[HH]Internal affairs

Now, let me briefly touch upon something else: My column neighbor Burak Bekdil, with whom I often disagree, has written about me again. This time, he proposed a “sociological experiment” which he and I would join together to measure whether secular or religious Turks are more liberal-minded people — by going to their neighborhoods and saying things that will offend them.

But that proposal, as fun as it may be, misses my point. I did not say, “Religious Turks are more tolerant to insult than secular ones.” (And even if I did, Mr. Bekdil should have added an “insulting Atatürk” line to his experiment, to make it fair.)

I just argued that the link between secularism and political liberalism, which many Westerners take for granted, doesn’t exist in Turkey. Here, secularism rather goes hand in hand with nationalism, whereas liberal ideas are increasingly popular among religious conservatives. If Mr. Bekdil wants to test that hypothesis with an experiment, he just can try some of his ultra-secularist friends and simply ask, “Why do you loathe both the conservatives and the liberals so much?”