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Ankara denounces Cyprus property ruling by UK court
Ankara warned that the ruling could compromise the possibility of reunification and long-lasting peace for the island, divided since 1974.
David and Linda Orams of Hove, Sussex, spent their life savings on their dream villa and pool after buying land on the Turkish part of the divided island in 2002. However, the original owner of the land, Meletis Apostolides, who migrated to the south when Turkey militarily intervened on the island in 1974, took court action against the couple, leading to judgments by the Nicosia District Court in Greek Cyprus ordering the immediate demolition of the villa, pool and fencing. They were also ordered to give back the property to Apostolides and pay him damages.
The UK Court of Appeal on Tuesday ruled that orders from the Greek Cypriot court in Nicosia must be enforced, while Apostolides’ lawyers said the ruling was final and a further appeal to the UK Court of Appeal was not permitted.
“Before everything else, the ruling by the UK Court of Appeal has a characteristic which may further complicate the Cyprus issue,” a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday evening said, recalling that efforts have been currently under way for reaching a comprehensive resolution of the issue based on bizonality, political equality and the establishment of a new partnership by two constituent states.
The ruling may motivate the Greek Cypriot administration to distance itself from the goal of resolution, the ministry said.
“When the critical phase in the ongoing negotiations on the island is taken into consideration, the timing of this ruling has been extremely unfortunate in regards to bona fide and legal objectivity. We want all related parties to know that an impact of this ruling on issues under the property title in negotiations is out of the question,” the Foreign Ministry said, highlighting that the approach by the UK along the legal process has particularly “sparked attention,” as Greece, Turkey and former colonial ruler Britain are guarantor powers of Cyprus’ independence agreement in 1960. Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials have been jointly working on precautions to be taken vis-à-vis this ruling, the statement noted. Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias, meanwhile, said the ruling was “legally and politically important.”
It is “an answer to the [Turkish] side, which wants to reject the right of ownership or the use of one’s property,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
In Athens, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Gregory Delavekouras said, “We hope that this decision will prompt those who question the right of ownership within the framework of the talks on Cyprus to re-examine their positions.”
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