A DELEGATION representing over 50 Turkish Cypriot and Turkish groups was due to hand in a 12,000 signature petition and protest letter this morning (Thursday) to Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Downing Street, complaining about the double standards being applied to the property issue in Cyprus.

The delegation included Fevzi Hussein of human rights lobby group Embargoed!, Servet Hassan of the Turkish Federation, Akmen Sitki of the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations,  Dourmoush Dourmoush of the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Commerce and

Cetin Ramadan of the Association of Turkish Cypriots Abroad.

The letter highlights a number of double standards being applied by the UK and the EU in light of the European Court of Justice ruling against British couple David and Linda Orams.

The ECJ ruling potentially leaves the door open for British and British Turkish Cypriots who have properties in North Cyprus, to be sued in the UK by former Greek Cypriot owners who claim they did not have the right to build.

This could affect thousands of people in both countries, with an estimated 6,000 non-Turkish Cypriots in North Cyprus owning property.

As well as criticising the Greek EU judge involved in the case of possible bias, the letter addressed to Gordon Brown adds that Turkish owned land in the south of Cyprus has been built upon with both Larnaca and Paphos Airports being built on Turkish owned land.

The EU decision to accept Cyprus as a member without a proper settlement is flagged up in the letter as a ‘historic mistake’, while

the thorny issue of British ex-pats in south Cyprus never having received title deeds to homes they have built, is also raised.

Fevzi Hussein, one of the delegation who was in Downing Street said, “The key message we want to get across is that while we understand the right of anyone to take legal action, the case of Apostolides against the Orams has serious repercussions for the reunification talks in Cyprus.

“The property issue is one of the biggest issues to unravel and the Orams ruling has potential to derail the talks. We believe that the Orams built on the land in good faith, as the vast majority of ex-pats in North Cyprus have done, but the whole question of reunification in Cyprus can hinge on this one court case.”

Fevzi Hussein added that thousands of British people in the south of Cyprus had yet to receive title deeds for homes they had built there and questioned if it was because they were built on Turkish Cypriot land.

He also praised the solidarity between the various Turkish Cypriots groups coming together for the unprecedented action in protest at the property issue.

Servet Hassan from the Turkish Federation added that the ECJ ruling against the Orams is upsetting because there was a distribution of property to both sides who lost out following the war in 1974.

“However it transpires that Mr Apostolides’ family, who brought this action, are occupying Turkish land. These property issues cannot be resolved through the courts and through legal challenges. The property issue is a political one which can only be solved through political means, not through the courts.”

Ms Hassan added that for a proper solution, there had to be political equality and status for Turkish Cypriots.

“It is wrong that the Greek Cypriot government purports to represent Turkish Cypriots too, and it is time we were treated as political equals, not as a minority with minority rights.”

Meanwhile there is an initiative being put together by the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Commerce to gather a number of top QCs and lawyers from Brussels in order to discuss the Orams ruling and look at ways of contesting the ECJ ruling.

LondraGazete.com