TRNC NEWS HEADLINES

ECJ’S DECISION ON ORAMS CASE

The European Court of Justice (ECJ), headed by the Greek judicator, has announced its decision on Orams case yesterday. The European Court of Justice has said that any judgment of a court in the so-called `Republic of Cyprus` must be recognized and enforced by other EU member states.

This needs to be the case the ECJ said, even if it concerns land located in the northern part of Cyprus.The Court noted that the application of Community Law in North Cyprus has been suspended by a protocol annexed to the Act of Accession due to the non-recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus .

Hereupon, ECJ announced its decision yesterday and it gave opinion that the decision taken by the Greek Cypriot Court should be found acceptance in Europe.

European Court of Justice adjudged in Orams case that the decisions of the Greek Cypriot court concerning civilian and commercial issues in TRNC can be recognized by the other EU members.

PRESIDENT TALAT: “NECESSARY LEGAL AND POLITICAL PRECAUTIONS SHALL BE TAKEN”

President Mehmet Ali Talat has said that the Orams Case and the consequent judgment of ECJ was the continuation of the Greek Cypriot Side’s efforts to perceive and portray the property issue as a dispute between individuals. Stating that it would not be correct to express any position or view on the matter before carefully assessing and evaluating the ECJ’s judgment, the President stressed that the ECJ’s failure to acknowledge the fact that the case was not the result of a violation of law by the Orams Couple but the result of the property dispute and the consequent existence of two separate property regimes on the island, was unacceptable.

“Above everything else, it must be known that the ECJ’s judgment is not the end and that the British High Court of Appeal will have the final say on the matter. It will be the British Court which will decide whether or not the Greek Cypriot Court ’s ruling will be applicable in the UK ” he said.

“It must be known that we perceive the property dispute in Cyprus not as a dispute among individuals but as a result of the Cyprus Problem” he said, adding that it was not possible to solve the property dispute before reaching a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus Problem.

“Settling the property dispute is not only about the property rights of former owners. It will be solved by taking into account the rights of current owners or users through a combination of the methods of compensation, restitution or exchange. He said he had explained to foreign dignitaries that the property dispute in Cyprus cannot be solved through cases similar to the Orams case and that any attempt to do so will only serve to strain relations between the two peoples on the island.

The President also reassured the Turkish Cypriot people that whatever the outcome of the British High Court of Appeal will be, the TRNC Presidency and all its state organs will continue to safeguard and apply existing laws. He also said all necessary responses to Greek Cypriot attempts to weaken the Turkish Cypriot Side’s hand at the negotiating table will be dealt with through solutions formulated in accordance with international law.

BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION: “PROPERTY DISPUTE CAN ONLY BE SOLVED THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE SETTLEMENT”

The British High Commissioner to Cyprus Peter Millet has said that the property dispute in Cyprus can only be solved through a comprehensive settlement.

In a written statement issued yesterday, the British High Commissioner pointed out that the Orams Case was a legal process and not a political one.

He said that the British High Court of Appeal, following the European Court of Justice’s judgment will be delivering the final verdict.

“As can be seen, the property issue which will be solved through a comprehensive settlement continues to be a sensitive and emotional issue for many people in Cyprus ” he said.

Commenting on the British Foreign Office’s advice on travelling and living overseas, Millet said that the aim of the advice offered was to warn British nationals on any difficulties or problems they may face while travelling or living overseas.

Explaining that a warning regarding the purchase of immovable property in North Cyprus had been posted on Foreign Office’s website, the British High Commissioner said that advice on property had been reviewed and reissued in line with the possible outcome of the Orams Case.

BESPARMAK GROUP: “CONTINUATION OF NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD BE RE-EVALUATED”

Besparmak Group, which mainly consists of ex-ministers, bureaucrats and lawyers, stated that the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) judgment on the Orams Case rendered impossible a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation aimed to be reached by the leaders through the negotiations and added that it constituted a time bomb for all the parameters which may be the basis of a possible agreement at the UN process.

The group invited the political leaders to make a new assessment whether to continue the negotiations or not and to take serious measures to protect the interests of the Turkish Cypriot people and the foreigners who made an investment in the TRNC.

In its written statement on the issue made yesterday, the Group stated that as the result of this judgment, the Greek Cypriot leaders and fanatics, who could not realize their aims through the use of force, had the opportunity to realize them by exploiting the institutions of the European Union. The statement added that “that is to say that they gain the opportunity to establish dominance over the Turkish Cypriot people and the TRNC.”

Pointing out that such a judgment taken at a time when a Greek judge serves as the President of ECJ has overshadowed the impartiality and dignity of ECJ, the statement underlined that the one-sided judgment taken by this court named as ECJ is not only devoid of justice, but also does not serve for reconciliation, peace and stability in Cyprus and the region.

Besparmak Group stated that the judgment on one hand had precluded the realization of bi-zonality through the negotiations and reconciliation, and on the other hand it had resurrected and even legitimized the Greek Cypriot people’s long lasting desire to dominate the Turkish Cypriot people, which caused the arising of the Cyprus problem and bloodshed for many years.

GREEK CYPRIOT FANATICS STROKED A JOURNALIST

Costas Yennaris, a very well known journalist in South Cyprus, who is Greece State Television reporter stroked by some Greek Cypriot Fanatics who were participants of ‘No’ meeting in Ledra Palace while he was trying to make a report about the visit of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to South Cyprus in Lokmacı Gate on 24^th of April.

According to the headline of the Greek Cypriot Newspaper Haravgi a group of Greek Cypriots went to the Lokmacı Gate to protest the 24^th of April referenda and ask for closing of the Lokmacı Gate. At the same time Yennaris was there for a live report about the visit of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to South Cyprus .

The group asked for an interview to Yennaris and when they answered as he was there for another report they stroked him and crush his microphone, and a man with surname Kelovulos threatened him as ‘you are keeping company with Turks in the occupied areas, I will finish you off’.