WRITTEN QUESTION No. 233/97 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Council. Freedoms and property rights of Greek Cypriots in the occupied part of Cyprus
Date: 1997-02-13
Institutions: ALAVANOS, European Parliament
Subjects: Cyprus, EU aid, Türkiye, action programme, human rights, ownership













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91997E0233

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 233/97 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Council. Freedoms and property rights of Greek Cypriots in the occupied part of Cyprus  


Official Journal C 391 , 23/12/1997 P. 0014 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0233/97 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Council (13 February 1997)Subject: Freedoms and property rights of Greek Cypriots in the occupied part of CyprusThe European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for violating the property rights of Titina Loizidou, a Greek Cypriot who has been denied all access to her property in the occupied northern part of Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of 1974. The Court also rejected claims put forward by Turkey that the Convention on Human Rights in Europe did not apply in the case of the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus because it (i.e. Turkey) had not yet approved the entry into force of the Convention.In the light of the Court's decision, will the Council say whether it intends to exert pressure:1. to secure the implementation of the Court's decision in the case of Titina Loizidou and in any similar case in which property rights have been violated by the occupying forces;2. to enable Eleni Foka to teach in the occupied territories and to enjoy free access to the free part of Cyprus;3. to secure the replacement of another Greek teacher who was teaching in Karpasia until recently when he retired and whom the Turkish authorities have refused to replace;4. to enable the children of Karpasia to have free access to the textbooks and other teaching material which the Republic of Cyprus sends them (history and divinity books never reach their destination)?Answer (4 July 1997)The Council is concerned about human rights violations in Cyprus and regrets the violations reported by the Honourable Member. However, the Council has no competence in the supervision of judgements rendered by the European Court of Human Rights.The Council emphasizes that, within its scope of competence, it spares no effort towards a just and viable political settlement in Cyprus. The Council is convinced that such a solution will be the most effective way to render human rights violations in Cyprus a thing of the past.As far as the problem of the enclaved persons is concerned, there has been no further progress on the implementation of the recommendation arising out of the humanitarian review undertaken by UNFICYP in 1995. The Council has taken due note of the European Parliament's Resolution No B4-0286/97 and follows with the utmost attention the efforts made by the UN to ameliorate the living conditions of the enclaved persons and to restore their fundamental rights.The Council would also like to point out that the current Financial Protocol signed in June 1995 aims at supporting efforts to promote a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus question. An amount of 12 MECU has been made for potential initiatives agreed jointly with Cyprus for projects promoting confidence building measures. It is foreseen that additional funds could be made available for the financing of programmes and projects to promote development of the whole island.