Another attempt by Turkey to end the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe’s supervision of a landmark case on property rights in Turkish-held Cyprus has failed after the members decided to pursue their oversight role.
The Titina Loizidou vs Turkey case concerns a Greek Cypriot with property in Turkish-held Kyrenia whose right to enjoy her property has bee violated by Turkey since invading Cyprus in 1974.
Diplomatic sources also told CNA that member states were not persuaded during the session that Turkey did everything in its power to enforce a 1998 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the restitution of the applicant’s rights.
“The decision is deemed to be important, given its great symbolic, as well as practical importance in relation to other issues pertaining to the property rights of displaced persons” one source also said.
This is not the first time Turkey attempts to close the supervision of the Loizidou case, with diplomatic sources underlining that Committee of Ministers’ oversight will continue.
The same body, sitting in Strasbourg on September 14-16, also decided to adopt an interim resolution concerning the damages Turkey has been called by the ECHR to pay to relatives of Greek Cypriot missing persons and to enclaved Greek Cypriots living in the Karpas peninsula, in the northeastern tip of Cyprus.
At the same time, the Committee decided to close the examination of the Tymvios and Alexandrou cases from the “Xenides-Arestis” group, which have been the subject of friendly settlements.
The Republic of Cyprus reiterated its position that it had no objection about the closure of these cases, concerning property rights.
As CNA learns, the Committee of Ministers also adopted an interim resolution, calling on Turkey in a stern manner to pay the damages awarded in the framework of the “Cyprus versus Turkey” case.
Following an interstate application in 1999, and a decision on merits in 2001, the ECHR ordered Turkey, in May 2014, to pay 90 mln euros for non-pecuniary damages suffered by the relatives of missing persons and the enclaved Greek Cypriots living in the area of Karpas.
The European Court of Human Rights sentenced Turkey in numerous cases, brought forward by Greek Cypriots, concerning the violation of their fundamental human rights, following the 1974 invasion.