Turkey admits that it has done nothing for six missing persons in the case of “Varnava and Others v. Turkey”, and for three others it can show no evidence of an effective investigations, says Achilleas Demetriades, one of the lawyers who represented the nine applicants before the European Court of Human Rights.
In a letter to the Committee of Minsters, ahead of its December meeting that will review the implementation of the September 2009 judgment, the lawyer says that in total disregard of its unconditional obligation to pay the damages awarded, Ankara takes no account of the various interim Resolutions adopted by the international organisation’s body.
Replying moreover to a memorandum, circulated by Turkey on November 10, Demetriades says that Ankara “is conspicuously silent as to its failure to pay the just satisfaction awarded.” In relation to individual measures in the case of Varnava, the lawyer says that Turkey “blatantly admits that for six missing persons it has actually done nothing and in the three others it can show no evidence of an effective investigation.”
This behaviour “further undermines the institutional role of the Committee of Ministers” and must “be brought to an end without any further delay” Demetriades adds, noting that these cases were filed 30 years ago, final judgments were secured 11 years ago and relate to continuous violations for the last 46 years.
The lawyer calls on the Committee of Ministers to serve formal notice, hold a vote and refer the matter to the Court, in line with Convention provisions.
Varosha developments hinder restitution of Greek Cypriot properties
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In a separate letter concerning Greek Cypriot applicants who own property in the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus, the lawyer points to recent developments in Varosha, the fenced off part of Famagusta, and says that “this is clearly a violation of the Applicants’ property rights and is designed to further hinder the restitution of possessions to the Applicants.”
“As if failure to pay just satisfaction awarded is not enough, the Respondent [Turkey] fails to recognise the Applicants’ ownership of their properties as established by the Court” he adds.
The ECHR awarded damages to several applicants in the “Xenides-Arestis v. Turkey” group of cases for loss of use, for various dates between 1990 and 2012, and as the applicants’ legal representative notes, this was not for the expropriation of those properties.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.
The Turkish side illegally opened last October part of the beach of the abandoned town of Famagusta, in violation to numerous UN resolutions.
Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, is often described as a ‘ghost town’. UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.
