QuoteReplyTopic: The facts about Cyprus issue Posted: 10-Apr-2005 at 11:07
not Turkish either:
Michael Cacoyannis tells us in a voiceover:
This is Cyprus... my homeland. I am Greek, and my name is Michael Cacoyannis. Cyprus has been inhabited by Greeks for more than 3,000 years. They survived many conquests. Roman, Frank, Venetian, Turkish, British... always emerging with their Greek heritage intact. When I left the island as a young man, it was still a British colony. The Greek inhabitants outnumbered the Turks by four-to-one, as they do today; only then they lived together, side-by-side, in peace.
This is like the Armenian rank and file passionately believing ancient Armenia has been ?stolen? by the Turks, even though the ones who were in charge of the lands at the time were the Byzantines... nearly a thousand years ago! Just because Greeks happen to live in Cyprus does not make it a Greek island... especially when Greece had nothing to do with Cyprus since the days of the Roman Empire, and earlier (while juggled between Assyrians, Sumerians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Persians; never, to my knowledge, was Cyprus a possession of a Greek government.
Of all the conquerors, only the Turks ... where the island of Cyprus (taken from the Venetians) is only a stone?s throw away... had the tolerance and magnitude to allow the Greeks to maintain their heritage; they could have easily displaced the Greeks with their own people (unlike the other conquerors who lived far away, and did not have the wherewithal to do so... similar to what China has been doing with Tibet and the United States with Hawaii -- in only a hundred years, or less.) Therefore, if the Greeks maintained their majority and preserved their customs and language after many centuries of Turkish rule, then let?s not give credit elsewhere... as if the Greeks succeeded in maintaining their heritage against all odds.
Moving on with the documentary's content:
Colonel Grivas on a poster
After the war, the Greeks, rallying around Archbishop Makarios, pressed the British for some solution that would lead to their national dream of enosis, union with Greece. In 1955... trouble exploded. A small group of underground fighters called Eoka took to arms led by Grivas ? a Cyprus born colonel of the Greek army. The British exiled Makarios... and for four long years (with an army that eventually rose to 40,000) they tried to crush Eoka, and failed. Where they did succeed was in rallying the support of the Turkish minority by using enosis as a red cloth. The tradition of peaceful coexistence collapsed in violence, and for the first time the Turks demanded partition as the only protection of their rights.
Coup leader Nikos Sampson
So Michael Cacoyannis is admitting there was peaceful coexistence between the two communities, and the ones who ?fired the first shot? were the Greeks. And look at this... he?s already making it sound like Enosis was just an excuse for big bad Turkey to move in. When the Greek Cypriots were fanatically massacring the Turks left and right during the 1950s, you had better believe partition was the only way to guarantee their survival... as history has borne out. (After the 1974 coup, coup leader Sampson admitted his plan was to commit genocide against the Turks: "Had Turkey not intervened I would not only have proclaimed << enosis,>> I would have annihilated the Turks in Cyprus." Eleftherotipia, Feb. 26, 1981.)
This is exactly what happened with the Armenians. Peaceful coexistence for long centuries until some fanatics stirred the masses with nationalism and racism, leading to massacres and violence against the Turks... bringing the counter-reaction that led to the Armenians and Greeks holding the short end of the stick. When that happens, they can?t handle the responsibility for their own criminal actions, and thus it becomes easy to point fingers at the Terrible Turk. They?ve got the money and the sympathy of the West, and thus it becomes easy for Michael Cacoyannis to produce a propaganda film, leading TheLondonTimes to gush (according to a blurb on the video box), ?One of the best records of history in the making.? Not if you define ?history? as a dispassionate account, London Times!
"I am the scourage of god appointed to chastise you,since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity exept me.You are wicked,but I am more wicked than you,so be silent!"
In a speech on Sept. 4, 1962 at Panayia, Makarios said, "Until this Turkish community forming part of the Turkish race that has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism is expelled, the duty of the heroes of EOKA can never be considered terminated."
"I am the scourage of god appointed to chastise you,since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity exept me.You are wicked,but I am more wicked than you,so be silent!"
"I am the scourage of god appointed to chastise you,since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity exept me.You are wicked,but I am more wicked than you,so be silent!"
Hold on, while this has nothing to do with America and I really don't want to get America involved in this issue, what do you mean by America would do it?
"America would have done it,Armenia would have done it.If i ran to any nation screaming idiots right after a commited crime that would be the last time you would be seeimg me"
If your talking about the American-mexican border we don't beat on them and we don't shoot at them. We capture hundreds everyday trying to cross the border and we take them to jail, ID them and deport them back to mexico. They try to run from the border patrol all the time, but they don't get away, we have guys on horseback, in helicopters, and other vehicles. I can guarantee you that the border patrol doesn't beat on people and would only use any kind of force if the illegal alien tried to use force against them, which I never heard a case of yet.
Solomou case admitted by Human Rights Court. (July 9, 1999)
The European Court of Human Rights has declared as admissible the case of the family of Solomos Solomou, shot dead by Turks during a peaceful demonstration against the Turkish occupation of Cyprus held in Dherynia in August 1996, who filed a suit against Turkey in Strasbourg in February.
The Court ruled that the application of the Solomou family was admissible after Turkey abstained from submitting any observations on its admissibility and a hearing on its merits will follow.
The Court is initially asking Turkey to justify Solomou's death in view of its claims that he was attempting to take down the Turkish flag.
The Court agrees with the view of the Cypriot lawyers that the Turkish flag was flying illegally on Cypriot territory.
The family of Tassos Isaac, who was clubbed to death in the buffer zone during the Dherynia events, has also filed an application to the European Court of Human Rights.
(Cyprus Press and Information Office)
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
[...] Through its unanimous adoption of resolution 1062 (1996), the Council deplored the tragic incident of 3 June in which a Greek Cypriot National Guardsman was fatally shot within the United Nations buffer zone. It called on the military authorities of both sides to respect the integrity of the zone, ensure that no further incidents occur along it, prevent hostile actions, including live fire against UNFICYP, grant the Force complete freedom of movement, and cooperate fully with it. [...] "3. Deplores the tragic incident involving the fatal shooting of a Greek Cypriot National Guardsman inside the United Nations buffer zone on 3 June 1996, as well as the hindering by Turkish Cypriot soldiers of UNFICYP personnel attempting to assist the National Guardsman and investigate the incident, as documented in the report of the Secretary-General of 7 June 1996;" [...] Secretary-General's Reports [...] He cites, in particular, an incident in which an unarmed National Guard soldier was shot and killed inside the United Nations buffer zone in central Nicosia. The lethal round was fired by a Turkish Cypriot soldier whom UNFICYP observed entering the buffer zone with his rifle strung across his back. Shortly thereafter, a single shot was heard and the Turkish Cypriot soldier was seen running back to the Turkish cease-fire line. UNFICYP soldiers were prevented for some 25 minutes from reaching the National Guard soldier by Turkish Cypriot soldiers, who fired shots in their direction each time they tried to move forward. [...]
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
List of the Original & Turkified Village names of Occupied Cyprus
Original Name
Turkified Name
'
Achna
Duzce
Avgolida
Kurtulus
Angastina
Aslankoy
Angolemi
Taspinar
Agridaki
Alemdag
Ayia
Dilekkaya
Agyrta
Agirdag
Ag Amvrosios
Esentepe
Ag Andronicos
Yesilkoy
Ag Vasileios
Turkeli
Ag Georgios Ker
Karaoglanoglu
Ag Georgios Lefkas
Madenlikoy
Ag Georgios Sp
Aygun
Ag Eirini
Akdeniz
Ag Epiktitos
Catalkoy
Ag Ermolaos
Sirinevler
Ag Evstathios
Zeybekkoy
Ag Elias
Yarkoy
Ag Theodoros
Cayirova
Ag Iakovos
Altinova
Ag Marina
Gurpinar
.
Ag Nikolaos Ammoch
Yamackoy
Ag Nikolaos Lef
Yamac
Ag Sergios
Yenibogazici
Ag Symeon
Avtepe
Ag Trias
Sipahi
Ag Chariton
Ergenekon
Akanthou
Tatlisu
Aloa
Atlilar
Amadies
Gunebakan
Ammochostos
Magusa
Ampelikou
Baglikoy
Argaki
Akcay
Ardana
Ardahan
Arnadi
Kuzucuk
Arsos Lrc
Yigitler
Artemi
Aridami
Assia
Pasakoy
Asomatos
Ozhan
Avlona
Gayretkoy
Afania
Gazikoy
-
Acheritou
Guvercinlik
Vathylakas
Derince
Varisha
Sirin
Vasilia
Karsiyaka
Vasili
Gelincik
Vatili
Vadili
Vitsada
Pinarli
Vokolida
Bafra
Vouno
Taskent
Vrishia
Yagmuralan
Voni
Gokhan
Genagra
Nergisli
Galatia
Mehmetcik
Galini
Omerli
Galinoporni
Kaleburnu
Gastria
Kalecik
Gaidouras
Korkuteli
Gerani
Turnalar
Gerolakkos
Alaykoy
Gialousa
Yenierenkoy/Maltepe
Goufes
Camlica
Gypsou
Akova
Davlos
Kaplica
Diorios
Tepebasi
Dio Potami
Ikidere
Engomi
Tuzla
Elia M
Doganci
Elia
Yesiltepe
Exometochi
Duzova
Epicho
Cihangir
Eptakomi
Yedikonuk
Thermia
Dogankoy
Karmi
Karaman
Kazafani
Ozankoy
Gaziveran
Gaziveren
Kalogrea
Bahceli
Kalochorio Lefkas
Camlikoy
Kalopsida
Cayonu
Kalivakia
Kalavac
Kampyli
Hisarkoy
Kanli
Kanlikoy
Kapouti
Kalkanli
Karakoumi
Karakum
Karavas
Alsancak
Karavostasi
Gemikonagi
Karpasia
Karpasa
Katokopia
Zumrutkoy
Kerynia
Girne
Keumurju
Komurcu
Geunyeli
Goneyli
Klepini
Arapkoy
Knodara
Gonendere
Kilanemos
Esenkoy
Kondea
Turkmenkoy
Kondemenos
Kordemen-Kilicaslan
Kormakitis
Korucan
Kornokipos
Gornec
Korovia
Kuruova
Kourou Mon
Cukurova
Koutsoventis
Gungor
Kouklia
Koprulu
Kridia
Kilitkaya
Krini
Pinarbasi
Kythrea
Degirmenlik
Kyra
Mevlevi
Kokkina
Erenkoy
Koma Yialou
Kumyali
Komi Kepir
Bugukkonuk
K Dikomo
As Dikmen
K Zodia
As Bostanci
Lapathos
Bogazici
Lapithos
Lapta
Larnaka L
Kozan
Livadia
Sazlikoy
Leonarisso
Ziyamet
Lefcosia
Lefkosa
Levconiko
Gecitkale
Lefka
Lefke
Livera
Sadrazamkoy
Limnitis
Yesilirmak
Limnia
Mormeneksi
Louroudjina
Akincilar
Loutros
Bademlikoy
Lythrangomi
Boltasli
Lyssi
Akdogan
Mandres
Agillar
Massari
Sahinler
Makrasyka
Incirli
Maratha
Murataga-Atlilar-Sandalla
Marathovouno
Ulukisla
Melanagra
Adacay
Melounta
Mallidag
Melousha
Kirikkale
Milia
Yildirim
Mia Milia
Haspolat
Ortakioy
Ortakoy
Mousoulita
Kurudere
Beykeuy
Beykoy
Bogaz K
Bogaz K
Bogazi
Bogaz
Monarga
Bogaztepe
Mora
Meric
Morfou
Guzelyurt
Motides
Incesu
Myrtou
Camlibel
Neta
Taslica
Neapoli
Yenisehir
Neochorio Kythr
Minarelikoy
Nikitas
Guneskoy
Xerovounos
Kurutepe
Xeros
Denizli
Ovgoros
Ergazi
Orga
Kayalar
Panagra
Gecitkoy
Bellapais
Bellabayis
Pergamos
Beyarmudu
Petra Digeni
Yenicekoy
Petra
Taskoy
Palekythro
Balikesir
Paleosofos
Malatya
Patriki
Tuzluca
Pentayia
Yesilyurt
Pervolia Tr
Bahceler
Peristeronari
Cengizkoy
Peristerona
Ovacik-Alanici
Piyi
Alanici
Pileri
Goceri
Platani
Cinarli
Platanissos
Balalan
Potamos K
Yedidalga
Prastio M
Aydinkoy
Prastio
Dortyol
Prosfygochori
Gocmenkoy
Pyrga
Pirhan
Pyroi
Gaziler
Pyla
Pile
P Dikomo
Yu Dikmen
P Zodia
Yu Bostanci
Rizokarpaso
Dipkarpas
Sinta
Inonu
Santalaris
Sandallar
Selemani
Suleymaniye
Skylloura
Yilmazkoy
Spathariko
Otuken
Strongylos
Turunclu
Stylli
Mutluyaka
Sychari
Kaynakkoy
Sirianochori
Yayla
Syngrasi
Sinerustu
Sisklipos
Akcicek
Templos
Zeytinlik
Tavros
Pamuklu
Chatoz
Serdarli Cattoz
Trapeza
Besparmak
Trachonas
Kizilbas
Trikomo
Iskele
Trachoni
Demirhan
Tremetoushia
Erdemli
Trimithi
Edremit
Trypimeni
Tirmen
Timpou
Kirklar
Filia
Serhatkoy
Flamoudi
Mersinlik
Fterycha
Ilgaz
Fotta
Dagyolu
Chartzia
Karaakac
Hamid Mandres
Hamitkoy
Chrysiliou
Yuvacik
Psyllatos
Sutluce
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
DESTRUCTION OF THE CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THE OCCUPIED AREA
The Times
"It is important to distinguish between random damage that might have been caused by drunks after a night out, and the demolition of crosses, tombstones and heavy marble slabs which weigh several hundredwieht and would need men with sledgehammers to destroy them. We found nothing to fit the first category. In fact, at Dhavlos, on the north coast, now occupied by mainland Turks, even the graveyard wall was partly demolished. Not a single tombstone remained standing...
..the process of obliterating everything Greek has been carried out methodically. The churches and graveyards have suffered severely."
"The Times", 5.27.1976
The little treasure house of Antiphonitis Monastery, in the mountains north of Lefkoniko, had sustained the most comprehensive looting and damage....the 11th, 12th, and 15th century icons..all had vanished or had been destroyed. The nineteenth and twentieth century icons were smashed, the furniture broken. In the corner were bags of cement and the remains of a fire. Furniture had been lugged outside onto the grass, and the whole place was a strewn with bottles and filth. Somebody was clearly proud of this work, for the wrecked iconostasis the date was chalked March 6, 1975."
"The Times", 5.27.1976
The report (August 9)from the Cyprus Director of Antiquities on the recent looting or desecration of the mosaics in the church of Panayia Kanakaria in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus has reopened the debate on the fate of churches, monasteries and mosques on that unhappy island.
As a journalist I have travelled widely and freely on both sides of the partition line. In Turkish Cyprus there was large scale damage to churches in the immediate aftermath of the 1974 intervention. That was perhaps understandahle. More recently, historic churches have been seized, stripped and whitewashed and converted into mosques. One example is on the fringes of Nicosia, another outside Famagusta. Others have been desecrated.
Less than a year ago, travelling in the company of Mr. Mustapha Adiloglou, press official in London of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus we came across a desecrated church in the centre of a busy village between Famagusta and Nicosia. Fresh excrement and urine lay on the smashed altar and the floor. The church Bible had been used as toilet paper and the wall paintings gashed and disfigured. The icons had vanished. From the state of the place it was clear that this was not a single act of violation. The place obviously had been a public convenience for months.
In fairness one should add that some churches (particularly tourist conscious Kyrenia) have been restored by the rurkish authorities and are either open for prayer or tourism or securely locked.
"The Times", 19.8.80
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
"The Turkish Cypriot Arts Society leader, Ali Atakan, in a statement issued on May 20 revealed yet more antique smuggling. According to this revelation, a valuable Byzantine mosaic has been stolen from a Byzantine Church in the village of Lythrangomi. There are two inter-connected churches in the village and the mosaic was stolen from the apse of the older church which dates back to the 8th century..."
Turkish Cypriot "Yenidyzen", 6.1.1982
You will see chambers cut out of the rocks, lighthouses, the remains of baths, layouts and the military camps set up on the ruins both before and after 1974... Today Lambousa is a military zone closed to tourists. Here are many important churches and the mythological Akhiropietos Monastery. Now you cannot see it because it is being used as a military warehouse. The icons stolen from Lambousa were retrieved while being smuggled out of Ankara airport."
Le Monde
"The antiques are illegaly exported from the northern part of the island, especially rich in archaeological sites'
"Le Monde", 12.27.1978
Bozkurt
"The Cyprus Arts Society in the occupied areas issued a press release saying that the antique smuggling in the occupied areas has reached enourmous dimensions and that measures should be taken to protect the destruction of the antiques."
Turkish Cypriot "Bozkurt", 7.4.1982
The Guardian
"We visited 26 former Greek villages. We found not a single undesecrated cemetery..."
"...The vandalism and desecration are so methodical and so widespread that they amount to institutionalised obliteration of everything sacred to a Greek ... In some instances, an entire graveyard of 50 or more tombs had been reduced to pieces or rubble no larger than a matchbox...we found the chapel of Ayios Demetrios at Ardhana empty but for the remains of the altar plinth, and that was fouled with human excrement... At Syngrasis ... the broken crucifix was drenched in urine.. At Lefkoniko ...the interior of Gaidhouras church... was overlooked by an armless Christ on a smashed crucifix... Tombs gaped open wherever we went...crosses bearing the pictures of those burried beneath ... had been flattened and destroyed.
"The Guardian", 'The Rape of northern Cyprus', 5.6.1976
Ortam
"The trial of the director sic of Kyrenia Museum, Mehmet Rasih, has ended with the case being referred to the "criminal court". The trial is connected with the 3 chests of antiques discovered in Turkey on their way to Germany, on 16.3.1981... The number of the missing icons or substituted icons were 225 ...later it was found that large icons had been sawn down to smaller sizes and thus entered in the books."
Turkish Cypriot "Ortam", 5.6.1982
Bozkurt
"Two icons estimated to cost arounf TL 1 million were stolen from Kyrenia "Court". The icons stolen from the village church of Karmi 5 months ago were found in the Famagusta district and 4 persons were arrested in connection with the incident. The icons were locked away in Kyrenia "Court-House" to be stolen again."
Turkish Cypriot "Bozkurt", 3.9.1979
The Times
"Confidential United Nations military documents, circulated to officers in the United Nations peace - keeping force in Cyprus, disclose that looting is being systematically carried out on a massive scale by the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot authorities in the north of the island"
"The Times", 12.13.1976
"...historic churches have been seized, stripped and whitewashed and converted into mosques ... Others have been desecrated. ... we came across a desecrated church in the center of a busy village between Famagusta and Nicosia. Fresh excrement and urine lay on the smashed altar and the floor. The church Bible had been used as toilet paper and the wall paintings gashed and disfigured. The icons had vanished. From the state of the place it was clear that this was not a single act of violation. The place obviously had been a public convenience for months. ... On the Greek side all the mosques I have seen are securely locked and protected."
"The Times", 8.19.80
The Sunday Times
"Scotland Yard and Customs Officials are uncovering a highly organized smuggling network behind the trail of antiques looted in Cyprus"
"The Sunday Times", 4.25.1976
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
The above testimony, by a British journalist, member of the crew of a British TV network which visited the occupied part of Cyprus, proved that the places of rest of the dead became targets of the most intense destruction mania. According to this and other testimonies, the crosses on graves were cut away and broken to pieces. Tombstones were also overturned and crushed to bits, while the invaders violated the graves.
"We managed to check 26 villages in all. Some other villages, such as Marathovouno and Pyrga, were sealed by the Army and access to the church itself was not possible. Since graveyards are usually some way out of the village, these were checkable and, in every instance, we found deliberate and usually comprehensive damage. In no village we visited was the graveyard intact"
"The Times", 5.27.1976
The Guardian
"We visited 26 former Greek villages. We found not a single undesecrated cemetery..."
"The Guardian", 5.6.1976
"The next village had been -until the events of 1974- Greek. Now it is deserted but for Turkish refugee squatters. There are two churches in the village. One has been stripped and converted into a mosque. A few Turkish Cypriots kneel, praying, inside it. The other church has been vandalised. The exterior walls are covered with illegible graffiti. Inside, the destruction is complete. The body of the church is bare of pews or chairs. The alter screen, composed of six-inch timbers, has been wrenched out, the icons have been looted. Among the filth on the floor lies the torn remains of an antique bible. ...The altar ... has been smashed. On the remains of the altar are broken bottles, excrement, and what smells like urine. When asked about the desecrated Greek church and the massacre villages, Rauf Denktash, "president of Turkish Cypriots"...ads that it all shows that Greeks and Turks can no longer live side by side on the island".
"The Guardian", 11.30.1979
OLAY
"Illegal digs are being made in all districts. For example, in Kyrenia, in Ayios Epiktitos, in Nicosia, and in the hills beyond Krini. But, Famagusta is the most suitable for illegal digs. Illegal digs virtually cover the whole district. In this district the first settlements were established and since ancient times they had maintained their historical importance.
Illegal digs in the Karpass start from the cliff in the east, from the small islets in the sea, and from the caves of Galinoporni, and extend to the north-west of the Karpass, to Eptakomi, Ovogoros, Galatia and Ardhana".
Turkish Cypriot, "Olay", 1 7.5. 1982.
The Observer
"Vandals have desecrated scores of British graves in Turkish occupied northern Cyprus, some of them dedicated to First World War soldiers ... The wrecking of British gravestones pales beside the destruction in Christian Greek Orthodox cemeteries ... Every cross has been destroyed and the tombs gape open to the elements, the lizards and the robbers, spurred on by the superstition that the Greeks have valuables buried with them"
"The Observer", 3.29.87
OLAY, April 1982.
"Haven't you heard that the 2000 year old Christian church in Cyprus, St Barnabas' Church, has been robbed? Haven't you heard that 35 icons were stolen, that 11 of them were found in Kythrea, that 11 were retrieved at Ankara airport while being smuggled out, and that the rest are lost? Haven't you heard what's happening in Varosha (Famagusta)? Haven't you heard that figurines belonging to the Catholic period and kept in the Archaelogical Museum have been stolen and smuggled to London? What about the icons in the other churches; the mosaics, the private collections, the illegal digs? Why have they stopped the digs started before 1974 at the city of Gastria, which belongs to the geometric age? Do you know what happened since then? The government has issued permits to certain businessmen from Turkey to set up a gypsum factory there. The tombs were destroyed and plundered."
Mehmet Yasin, "Perishing Cyprus" in the Turkish Cypriot Review "Olay", April 1982.
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 2 April 1992 at the 473rd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)
I. Missing persons (para 123 above)
The Commission, having found it established in three cases, and having found sufficient indications in an indefinite number of cases, that Greek Cypriots who are still missing were unlawfully deprived of their liberty, in Turkish custody in 1974, noting that Turkey has failed to account for the fate of these persons, concludes by 16 votes against 1 that Turkey has violated Art 5 of the Convention.
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
The Sunday Times, 6 November 1977 In an article dated 6/11/1977, the English newspaper The Sunday Times reports the following: "accounts of a widow's murder and of another alleged murder and an attempted murder have been revealed by refugees. Greek Cypriots say the murder was only the latest in a series of incidents in the township of Rizokarpaso, in the isolated north eastern tip of the divided island, aimed at terrorising the township's remaining Greeks into fleeing south and leaving their property for the Turks. The Cyprus government has asked the United Nations peace-keeping force to investigate all three "but the Turks don't allow us to investigate", said a U.N. spokesman."
Die Weltwoche, 30 August 1978 In a report published on 30/8/1978 in the German-language Swiss newspaper, Die Weltwoche, Peter Schmid, who visited the occupied part of Cyprus as a guest of the Denktash regime, describes the experience he had during a visit to Rizokarpaso, which reveals the state of terror under which the enclaved live. ZI ordered a drink at the Greek tavern and when the proprietor brought it, I followed him into the kitchen to talk to him in private. The grey-haired man avoided my eyes and evaded every question. "Speak freely," I urged him. "That would be the end", he whispered. Outside, in a covered market place, I found that several hundred Greeks, mainly wrinkled old people had gathered together. When their clothing is distributed, their names are called out and the items of charity are thrown to the recipient."
Milliyet, 8-14 January 1979 A Turkish journalist, Refik Erduran, confirms that the enclaved live under inhuman conditions and speaks of the need to rectify this situation, as it would serve Turkish propaganda. In a series of seven articles on the Cyprus problem, published in the Instanbul daily Milliyet (8-14/1/79) he writes that the Cyprus government "repairs and maintains even the empty Turkish Cypriot houses. It also makes sure that the foreigners on the island observe this fact. But the money spent is well worth the positive impression it creates. We too had a trump card we could use in the same way. We could ensure that the handful of Greek Cypriots who remain in the Karpass peninsula could achieve a higher standard of living than the one they enjoyed before. We could meet their educational, transportation and health needs; we could prevent any settler from moving into their villages, we could make sure that they would not feel uncomfortable in any way, we could provide them with credits and agricultural aid. We could almost force them to live better. We could do all this at a cost of 5 to 10 million Turkish liras and the region would pay this money back in produce in a few years. Then we could exhibit this showcase to the whole world. But we did not do any of these things. Our inadequacy in propaganda springs not from lack of words but from our inability to make proper use of such opportunities."
24 Heures, 3 June 1980 Having visited Cyprus in 1980, Gilberate Favre of the French-language Swiss newspaper 24 Heures, reported the following: "The number of Greek Cypriot refugees is not about to diminish for nearly everyday, Cypriots enclaved in the Karpass region, in the Famagusta district, are expelled by the Turkish army. "A quarter of an hour to leave everything" According to refugees' testimonies, the methods of intimidation of the Turkish army are diverse. First of all, there is the daily war of humiliations and "punishments" to give an example of them. There is also an attempt to give this policy of expulsion an aspect of legality although, in actual fact, it is contrary to the Charter of Human Rights. "I was given a quarter of an hour to leave my house and my village", a refugee says. "Turkish soldiers made me sign a statement according to which I wanted to leave my village. Then they took me to the U.N. zone and showed my statement to U.N. soldiers." ... Nodding his head saddly, an old man, who has lived under Turkish occupation for four years, tells me that he was willing to put up with almost anything in order to remain in his house and in his ancestral village."
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
the New York Times" of 27.12.1963: "Most of the fighting centered on a police station occupied by Turks in Nicosia, and on family apartments in the suburb of Omorphita. These were overrun and occupied by Turks who chased off Greek families. They were reported to have killed an unspecified number of women and children".
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
Newspaper: Yeniduzen, 17.6.95 Title: Turkish Cypriot Teachers Union opposes integration with Turkey
Turkish Cypriot Teachers' Union opposes integration with Turkey According to YENIDUZEN (17.6.95) the Turkish Cypriot Teachers Trade Union (KTOS) has declared that in case integration with Turkey is realized this will mean that no Turkish Cypriots will remain in Cyprus. KTOS announced that it is against any solution which will make Turkish Cypriots emigrate from Cyprus. The executive committee of the trade union, in a written statement, accused Denktash of dragging the Turkish Cypriots, through his known tactics, into a dangerous adventure. The statement further says that Denktash, through his known tactics, is trying to create a situation, using the recent Cyprus EU Association Council decision as an excuse to further his known ideas. The paper stresses that the EU resolution is not different from previous EU decisions. The statement urges the Turkish Cypriot leadership, instead of pushing the problem up-hill and rendering its solution difficult, to co-operate and try to solve the problem and enter into membership with the EU. "Turkish Cypriots can only live in peace and democracy in their own country if a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem is found. If integration with Turkey is realized, the Turkish Cypriots will start emigrating from the island as soon as possible. Consequently there will be no Turkish Cypriots left in Cyprus. Is this the aim of some circles in Cyprus? KTOS, from the day it was established, has always defended the Turkish Cypriots living in their own country in peace and under democratic conditions. KTOS will continue its struggle for the finding of a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem. It will continue to oppose any solution that will result in the Turkish Cypriots emigrating from Cyprus. We believe and state that a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem is not only in the interest of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities but is in the interest of Greece and Turkey as well", concludes the statement.
TURKISH COLONIZATION
Gunaydin
"In the place of our people who flee abroad to earn their living, people come from Turkey under the name of 'labour force'. This labour force is turned into a vore force for conservative, chauvinist directed politicians...We are faced with the danger of becoming a minority in northern Cyprus..foreigners in our own homeland" Ozker Ozgur, leader of Turkish (Cypriot) Republican Party, in Turkish Gunaydin 1.7-14.1986
Berliner Extra Dienst
"...These settlers ... will be used ... in the long term changes in the demographic composition of the island against Greek Cypriots. [...] This tendency for settlement belies the pretext that the 1974 "peace-operation" had as its aim the interests of the Turkish Cypriot community" "Berliner Extra Dienst", 8.5.1977
Der Spiegel
"...The settlers from Anatolia took most of the houses left behind by the Greeks, as well as fields and machinery. This caused resentment on the part of the Turks who came from the south [Turkish Cypriots] and who felt they had been wronged in the sharing of Greek loot..." "Der Spiegel", 7.17.1978
NRC-Handelsblad
"...Turkish Cypriots ...believe that more than 100,000 mainland Turks have already moved into previously Greek-Cypriot houses..." 'Trick conceals flood of Turks to Cyprus' in "NRC-Handelsblad" (Netherlands), 7.4.1979
The Guardian
"They invaded in two separate waves. They camped along the Attila Line, holding 36 per cent of Cyprus. They have not budged since. Worse, they have relentlessly filled northern Cyprus with mainland immigrants, squeezing all but a handfull of Greeks from their territory. ...Who can woder...that the Greeks fear not merely permanent division along the Attila Line but, at some suitable future moment with some suitable future excuse, a further Turkish push to swallow all of Cyprus? Will world opinion be any more help then that it is now?..." 'Words won't shift Turkey' in "The Guardian", 8.30.1979
Noticiero Universal
"From the 200,000 refugees -nearly one-third of the total population- around 18,500 remained enclaved in the Turkish region and were under sustained pressure to abandon their homes. Thus in their place 50,000 Turkish settlers from Anatolia have been accommodated, who altered the demographic character of the occupied territories, and obtained title of "permanent" ownership of these properties..." Nati Gutierrez, 'A slow agony scourges the "Island of Love" ' in "Noticiero Universal", 1.17.85
La Croix
"...These settlers were given land and properties belonging to Greek Cypriots, chased away in the south... In a few days they [settlers] were allocated Cypriot nationality [sic] so that they could vote during the elections in favour of Denktash's administration and their behavious, rapes, thefts, and dealing with drugs were overlooked. ...The colonization by the continental Turks, is denounced by the Turkish Cypriots themselves who suffer from its consequences." "La Croix", 7.11.1980
The Spectator
"In spite of past hatreds, many Turkish Cypriots say they regret the exodus of the Greeks and even that they feel more affinity with these fellow Cypriots than they do with the mainland Turks, especially the Anatolians. We call them A.A. for 'Anatolian Apes' said one local sophisticate. The mainlanders are accused of boorishness, arrogance, looting and not going away.." "The Spectator", 9.16.1978
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
Hold on, while this has nothing to do with America and I really don't want to get America involved in this issue, what do you mean by America would do it?
"America would have done it,Armenia would have done it.If i ran to any nation screaming idiots right after a commited crime that would be the last time you would be seeimg me"
If your talking about the American-mexican border we don't beat on them and we don't shoot at them. We capture hundreds everyday trying to cross the border and we take them to jail, ID them and deport them back to mexico. They try to run from the border patrol all the time, but they don't get away, we have guys on horseback, in helicopters, and other vehicles. I can guarantee you that the border patrol doesn't beat on people and would only use any kind of force if the illegal alien tried to use force against them, which I never heard a case of yet.
Oh no no no no no!You got me wrong sorry.I was giing examples wich was clearly wrong.(exept armenians)
"I am the scourage of god appointed to chastise you,since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity exept me.You are wicked,but I am more wicked than you,so be silent!"
1st Report of the European Commission of Human Rights Turkey's invasion in Cyprus and aftermath (20 JULY 1974 - 18 MAY 1976)
Part of the Introduction
After overruling Turkey's objection the Commission of Human Rights considered: "the evidence before the Commission and the facts established on the basis of this evidence cannot be seen as presenting a view of the events and incidents complained of mainly from the Greek Cypriot side. The Commission observes in this connection that: - certain events and incidents referred to in the applications are in great part a matter of public knowledge. In particular, the massive movement of population from the northern to the southern part of Cyprus after 20 July,1974 is an indisputable fact which, as such, calls for no particular investigation; the Commission has based its findings in part on reports of other international organizations, in particular the United Nations; - the witnesses heard by the Commission's Delegation in Cyprus testified, with little exception, with a restraint and objectivity that gave credibility to their testimony; some of them confirmed a number of statements in the Particulars of the Applications about which they could not have had any direct knowledge; - in the evaluation of the evidence before it, the Commission has refrained from drawing any conclusions from the fact that the respondent Government, despite every opportunity being offered to them, failed to make any statements, or to proposed counterevidence on the applicant Government's allegations". (Report, p.31)
Relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
" Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally." (Article 2)
Charge laid against Turkey:
The Turkish Army embarked upon a systematic course of mass murders of civilians unconnected with any war activity, including women and babies in arms, and soldiers who had surrendered.
Turkish defense:
No answer was given to these charges. Turkey boycotted the Commission's proceedings once her jurisdictional objection was rejected.
Commission's verdict:
By 14 votes to 1 the Commission, after examining a number of killings at specific places, held that the evidence before it constituted "strong indications of killings committed on a substantial scale" (para.346). The Commission concluded: " In view of the very detailed material before it on other killings alleged by the applicant Government, the Commission, by fourteen votes against one, concludes from the whole evidence that killings happened on a larger scale than in Elia. There is nothing to show that any of these deprivations of life were justified... " (Report, p.165)
Further relevant facts:
Greek National Guardsmen and civilians were killed in the field and in bombing raids on civilian targets, including hospitals. In these raids the Turkish Air Force used napalm. These killings were not the subject of the application to the European Commission on Human Rights, being rather breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
Relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
" Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life and his home..." (Article 8)
Charge laid against Turkey:
The Turkish Army displaced 200,000 Greek Cypriots (more than one third of the population) from their homes. This was effected partly by physical expulsion and partly by a systematic campaign of terror, causing Greek Cypriots to flee in the face of Turkey's advancing armed forces. Refugees and expellees were not permitted by the Turkish Army to return to their homes in the Turkish occupied area.
Turkish defense:
No answer was given to these charges. Turkey boycotted the Commission's proceedings once her jurisdictional objection was rejected.
Commission's Verdict:
" Displacement of persons:
1. The Commission concludes by thirteen votes against one that, by the refusal to allow the return of more than 170,000 Greek Cypriot refugees to their homes in the north of Cyprus, Turkey violated, and was continuing to violate Art. 8 of the Convention in all these cases. When hostilities ended some Greek Cypriots were able to return to their homes near the cease-fire lines in areas under UN or Government control thus reducing the number of refugees to 170,000.
2. The Commission concludes by twelve votes against one that, by the eviction of Greek Cypriots from houses, including their homes, by their transportation to other places within the north of Cyprus, or by their deportation across the demarcation line, Turkey has equally violated Art. 8 of the Convention.
3. The Commission concludes by thirteen votes against one that by the refusal to allow the return to their homes in the north of Cyprus of several thousand Greek Cypriots who had been transferred to the south under inter-communal agreements, Turkey violated, and was continuing to violate Art. 8 of the Convention in all these cases.
4. The Commission concludes by fourteen votes against one with one abstention that, by the separation of Greek Cypriot families brought about by measures of displacement in a substantial number of cases, Turkey has again violated Art.8 of the Convention." (Report, p.163).
Relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
" No one shall be deprived of his liberty.." (Article 5)
Charge laid against Turkey:
The Turkish armed forces detained thousands of persons arbitrarily and without lawful authority. On entering any inhabited area they immediately rounded up all Greek Cypriot inhabitants (many women & children were hiding in their homes). On capture men were separated and detained apart from old people, women and children, who were either put in "concentration camps" or expelled. On the hundreds kept in such camps small babies to old people of 90 were crowded together under atrocious conditions without sanitary facilities at the height of summertime, when temperatures reach over 40 o C. The worst such "concentration camps" were Voni, Marathovouno, Vitsada and Gypsou. In addition, Turkish authorities held some 3,000 inhabitants of the Kyrenia district in the Kyrenia Dome Hotel & in Bellapais village. Many male Greek Cypriots were temporarily sent as "prisoners of war" to places like Saray Prison & Pavlides Garage in the Turkish part of Nicosia, later being transported to Turkey and detained in prisons in Adana, Amasia and Atiama. It is notable that the great majority of those shipped to Turkey were civilians of all ages between 17 and 70. Article 49.1 of the Geneva Convention, 1949, Fourth Schedule, provides that: "individual or mass forcible transfers,as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not are prohibited, regardless of their motive." The transfer of civilians to Turkey show the contempt exhibited by the Turkish Army for the principles of international law. Turkey has never provided complete lists of detainees and the fate of about 3,000 Greek Cypriots was unknown at the time of the first applications to the Commission. Because evidence showed numbers of these missing persons had been in custody in Turkey the Commission was asked to investigate whether they were still imprisoned there.
Turkish defense:
No answer was given to these charges. Turkey boycotted the Commission's proceedings once her jurisdictional objection was rejected.
Commission's Verdict:
" Detention centers:
1. The Commission,by thirteen votes against one, concludes that, by the confinement of more than two thousand Greek Cypriots to detention centres established in schools and churches at Voni, Gypsou and Morphou, Turkey has violated Art.5(1) of the Convention.
2. The Commission by thirteen votes against one, further concludes that, by the confinement of Greek Cypriots to private houses in Gypsou and Morphou, where they kept under similar circumstances as in the detention centres, Turkey has equally violated Art.5(1).
3. The Commission, by ten votes against two with two abstentions, finally concludes that, by the CONFINEMENT of Greek Cypriots to the Kyrenia Dome Hotel after 14 August 1974, Turkey has again violated Art.5(1).
Prisoners and detainees:
1. The Commission, by thirteen votes against one, concludes that the detention of Greek Cypriot military personnel in Turkey was not in conformity with Art.5(1) of the Convention.
2. The Commission, by thirteen votes against one, concluded that the DETENTION of Greek Cypriot civilians IN Turkey was equally not in conformity with Art.5.(1)" (Report, p.164). Evidence on missing persons: The evidence before the Commission does not allow a definite finding with regard to the fate of Greek Cypriots declared to be missing. This is partly due to the fact that the Commission's Delegation was refused access to the northern/occupied/part of Cyprus and to places in Turkey where Greek Cypriot prisoners were or had been detained. In the present Report the Commission is only concerned with the fate of persons declared to be missing as from the beginning of the military action of Turkey on 20 July 1974. It is not concerned with any person missing due to the coup d'etat which on 15 July 1974 preceded the above action... It appears, however, from the evidence that: it is widely accepted that "a considerable number of Cypriots" are still " missing as a result of armed conflict in Cyprus" i.e. between Turkey and Cyprus; a number of persons declared to be missing have been identified as Greek Cypriots taken prisoner by the Turkish army. The Commission considers that there is a presumption of Turkish responsibility for the fate of persons shown to have been in Turkish custody. However,on the basis of the material before it, the Commission has been unable to ascertain whether, and under what circumstances, Greek Cypriot prisoners declared to be missing have been deprived of their life" (Report, paras. 347-349, and 351)
Relevant Article of the European Convention an Human Rights:
" No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment..." (Article 3)
Charge laid against Turkey:
Turkish troops were responsible for wholesale and repeated rapes of women of ALL AGES from 12 to 71, sometimes to such an extent that the victims suffered haemorrages or became mental wrecks. In some areas, enforced prostitution was practiced, all women and girls of a village been collected and put into separate rooms in empty houses where they were raped repeatedly. In certain cases members of the same family were repeatedly raped, some of them in front of their own children. In other cases women were brutally raped in public. Rapes were on many occasions accompanied by brutalities such as violent biting of the victims causing severe wounding, banging their heads on the floor and wringing their throats almost to the point OF suffocation. In some cases attempts at rape were followed by the stabbing or killing of the victims. Victims included pregnant and mentally retarted women.
Turkey's defense:
No answer was given to these charges and Turkey boycotted the Commission's proceedings once her jurisdictional objection was rejected.
Commission's verdict:
" The evidence shows that rapes were committed by Turkish soldiers and at least in two cases even by Turkish officers, and this NOT ONLY in some isolated cases of indiscipline. It has not been shown that the Turkish authorities took adequate measures to prevent this happening or that they generally took any disciplinary measures following such incidents. The Commission therefore considers that the non-prevention of the said acts is imputable to Turkey under the Convention.
The Commission, by 12 Votes against one, finds that the incidents of rape described in the above cases and regarded as established constitute "inhuman treatment" in the sense of Art.3 of the Convention, which is imputable to Turkey" (Report, paras. 373-4)
Relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
" No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment..." (Article 3)
Charges laid against Turkey:
Hundreds of persons, including children, women and elderly people, were the victims of systematic torture and SAVAGE and humiliating treatment during their detention by the Turkish army. They were beaten; sometimes to the extent of being incapacitated. Many were subjected to tortures such as whipping, breaking of the teeth, knocking their heads on the wall, beating with electrified clubs, extinction of cigarettes on their skin, jumping and stepping on their chest and hands, pouring dirty liquids on them, piercing them with bayonets etc. Many of these detainees were ill-treated to such an extent that they became mental and physical wrecks. Among the persons so treated were those deported to and imprisoned in Turkey (of whom most were civilians). During their transportation and detention they were savagely ill-treated, being wounded, beaten, kicked, whipped, blindfolded, handfettered punched to the extent of bleeding, etc. These brutalities reached their climax after the cease fire agreements and resolutions of the U. N. Security Council calling for an end to hostilities. In fact most of these acts were committed when Turkish armed forces were not engaged in any war activities. More than 1,000 statements obtained from witnesses described their ill-treatment. Such statements showed a pattern of behaviour by the Turkish forces, proving that the atrocities were deliberate tactics which the invading forces were to follow. The aim was to terrorise, destroy and eradicate the Greek population of the Turkish occupied area so that it would be vacant to move in Turks, thus creating an area populated virtually only by Turks.
Turkey's defense:
No answer was given to these charges and Turkey boycotted the Commission's proceedings once her jurisdictional objection was rejected.
Commission's verdict:
" The Commission by twelve votes against one,concludes that prisoners were in a number of cases physically ill-treated by injuries and at least in one case the death of the victim. By their severity they constitute "inhuman treatment" and thus violations of Art.3, for which Turkey is responsible under the Convention.
The Commission by twelve votes against one, concluded that the withholding of an adequate supply of food and drinking water and of adequate medical treatment from Greek Cypriot prisoners held at Adana and detainees in the northern area of Cyprus, with the exception of Pavlides Garage & Saray prison, again constitutes, in the cases considered as established and in the conditions described, "inhuman treatment" and thus a violation of Art.3, for which Turkey is responsible under the Convention" (Report, pp.165-166) The Commission did not find sufficient evidence that prisoners held in these two locations in the Turkish sector of Nicosia were guarded by Turkish soldiers - as opposed to Turkish-officered Turkish Cypriot "forces" (para. 308)
"The evidence obtained established that, in a considerable number of cases prisoners were severely beaten or otherwise physically ill-treated by Turkish soldiers" (Report, para.393) The Commission, by twelve votes against one,concludes that the written statements submitted by the applicant Government constitute indications of ill-treatment by Turkish soldiers of persons not in detention" (Report, p.166)
Deprivation of possessions, looting and wanton destruction
Relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
"Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions..." (Article 1 of Protocol No.1)
Charge laid against Turkey:
Greek Cypriots were deprived of their possessions either by eviction or by seizure of movable property and its subsequent removal by Turkish soldiers, or by conditions making abandonment of home and property the only wise course as life and limb were at risk from the Turkish army. When privately owned land & houses belonging to Greek Cypriots in the Turkish occupied areas came under Turkey's control,most of this was distributed to Turkish Cypriots and to Turks brought from Turkey to settle in those areas. To preclude any Greek Cypriots from reclaiming their possessions,Turkish authorities forcibly prevented their return and continued to expel most remaining Greek Cypriots. In various official statements the Turkish Government made it clear that Turkey was organizing marketing of all agricultural production in the occupied area. The same applied to tourism and Turkey took over all Greek Cypriot manufacturing industry. Goods already manufactured & agricultural produce ready for marketing were shipped abroad in Turkish vessels. In addition, the Turkish Army systematically looted houses and business premises belonging to Greek Cypriots. Even properties of those Greek Cypriots who had remained in the Turkish occupied army part not escape this fate. Most loot was loaded into Turkish army vehicles & buses seized from Greek Cypriots, and a substantial part, including vehicles, animals, household goods,and building equipment, was transported by Turkish naval vessels to the mainland. The Turkish Army also engaged in wanton destruction. Turkish soldiers attempted to burn down all buildings along "the green line" in Nicosia, and orchards and crops belonging to Greek Cypriots were set on fire after cessation of hostilities. Witnesses also described breaking of doors and windows of houses, the smashing of furniture icons, candles and other church property and killing of animals. The destruction of Christian & Hellenic monuments was a significant feature of Turkey's occupation. Religious property was a particular target in an attempt to destroy the cultural identity of the occupied area. Not only were religious items & church equipment smashed, set on fire or looted, but most Greek Orthodox churches not converted into mosques were vandalized. Mosaics and even frescos were either defaced or removed. This occurred in military zones under control of the Turkish Army and from which Turkish Cypriots were excluded. Even archaeological museums and sites did not escape vandalisation and initial looting.
Turkey's defense:
No answer was given to these charges and Turkey boycotted the Commission's proceedings once her jurisdictional objection was rejected.
Commission's verdict:
"The Commission accepted that the 170,000 Greek Cypriots displaced from the occupied area had left behind their movable & immovable possessions and referred to "the established fact that these displaced persons are allowed to return to their homes in the north, and thus to property left there" (Report para.471)
The Commission went on to find "proof of taking and occupation of houses and land by Turkish Cypriots and Turks from the mainland, both military personnel and civilians" (Report para. 472) Moreover the Commission accepted " testimony as proving beyond reasonable doubt that looting and robbery on an extensive scale by Turkish troops and Turkish Cypriots have taken place... As regards such deprivations of possessions by Turkish Cypriots, the Commission considers that, insofar as the persons committing them were acting under the direct order or authority of the Turkish forces of which there is evidence, the deprivation must equally be imputed to Turkey under the Convention..."
The Commission, by 12 votes against one, finds it established that there has been deprivation of possesions of Greek Cypriots on a large scale, the exact extent of which could not be determined. This deprivation must be imputed to Turkey under the Convention and it has not been shown that any of these interferences were necessary for any of the purposes mentioned in Article 1 of Protocol No.1" (Report, paras 472-486)
Relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such... as race, ... language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority... or other status" (Article 14)
Charge laid against Turkey:
The acts of the Turkish Army were exclusively directed against the Greek Cypriot community with the object of destroying and, eradicating the Greek population of the Turkish occupied area so as to move therein Turks, thereby artificially creating a Turkish populated area. All Turkey's atrocities were directed against Greek Cypriots (though some foreign subjects who happened to be or have property in the Turkish occupied area were also affected by some such acts e.g. looting and wanton destruction of property).
Turkish defense:
No answer was given to these charges and Turkey boycotted the Commissions proceedings once her jurisdictional objection had been rejected.
Commission's Verdict:
" The Commission has found violations of a number of Articles of the Convention. It notes that the acts violating the Convention were exclusively directed against members of one of the two communities in Cyprus, namely the Greek Cypriot community. The Commission concludes by eleven votes to three that Turkey has thus failed to secure the rights and freedoms set forth in these Articles without discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, race and religion as required by Art.14 of the Convention (Report, para. 503)
Relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
" Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy..." (Article 13)
Charge laid against Turkey:
None of the victims of the ruthless and evil deeds by Turkish State organs and her Armed Forces was ever given any opportunity to vindicate his rights before an authority or tribunal as provided by Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention. Persons under Turkish control were not even permitted to talk without Turkish supervision to the International Red Cross. In short, no effective remedy of any kind was afforded either in the Turkish occupied area or in Turkey itself in respect of Turkish atrocities.
Turkish defense:
In its jurisdictional objection, Turkey argued that remedies were availale before the competent judicial authorities in Turkey or before the military courts of the Turkish forces in Cyprus.
Commission's findings:
The Commission held that such remedies had not been shown to be "practicable and normally functioning". Nor had it been established that such complaints could be effectively handled. (Admissibility Report, at p. 22 of the Report). The Commission at the hearing on the merits reiterated that it had found no evidence that effective and suficient remedies were available. (Report, paras. 499-501)
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
OK.There were killings on both sides.I totally agree now
Euoropen commition of rights accepted both cases.I never heard of ht result
Smuggling against massackere.Not a match
"I am the scourage of god appointed to chastise you,since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity exept me.You are wicked,but I am more wicked than you,so be silent!"
2nd Report of the European Commission of Human Rights Turkey's invasion in Cyprus and aftermath (19 MAY 1976 -to 10 February 1083)
New population expulsions, Turkish colonization, aggravated and continuing violations
Turkey's violations of the convention
Cyprus, as a state concerned in proceedings under the Convention is not at liberty to publish any Report by the Commission on the merits (final factual findings) until such time as the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decides on publication. Accordingly, final factual findings, if any, by the Commission cannot be set out here. Nonetheless Cyprus charges against Turkey can be disclosed as these were published in October 1978 by the Commission after it had declared Cyprus' application admissible, i.e. that it would fully investigate and that Turkey had to answer a prima facie case made out by Cyprus.
Turkey's Objections
Turkey, as in the earlier applications, raised every conceivable technical objection to the Commission's jurisdiction. In particular it claimed that no application could be considered because:
-Turkey did not recognize the government of Cyprus
Commissions ruling:
The Government of the Republic was internationally recognized, but in any event to allow Turkey to avoid enforcement of the Convention "by asserting that they do not recognize the Government..would defeat the purpose of the Convention" (Admissibility Report, The Law, para. 13).
-Turkey had no control over the occupied area which was under the exclusive jurisdiction of a "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus".
Commission's Ruling:
Turkey's jurisdiction in Cyprus could not be excluded by asserting that such an entity "allegedly exercised jurisdiction". It was the presence of Turkish Armed Forces, operating solely under direction of the Turkish Government and acting as "authorized agents of Turkey", which prevented the Government of the Republic of Cyprus from exercising jurisdiction in the occupied area, and Turkey was responsible for her Army's actions (Ibid., paras. 23-25).
Further proceedings:
In November 1983 the Commission announced that it had adopted its Report. According to Article 31.1 of the Convention this Report would have been
"on the facts and stating its opinion as to whether the facts found disclose a breach by the State concerned of its obligations under the Convention".
The substance underlying the proceedings n Cyprus vs. Turkey (Third Application).
Relevant articles of the European Convention on Human Rights:
"Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty..." (Article 5)
"Everyone has the right to respect for his ...family life..." (Article 8)
Charge laid against Turkey:
About 2,000 Greek Cypriots, a considerable number being civilians, are still missing. They were last seen alive in the occupied area of Cyprus after hostilities had ceased and under arrest by the Turkish army or armed Turks acting under its direction. Many had been seen in detention in prisons in Turkey or in Cyprus. Turkey nonetheless continued to prevent any investigation by international Committee of the Red Cross. For 9 years, Turkey through her puppet regime, declined to act on 5 UN General Assembly Resolutions which sought to activate a humanitarian Committee on Missing Persons to investigate the fate of all Cypriots missing as a result of the invasion. In response there was prevarication, refusal to co-operate and addition of new and obstructive conditions.
Fresh evidence about some of the missing persons last seen alive in Turkish detention revealed that some were in Adana and Amasia prisons in Turkey. others had been photographed after their surrender or in Turkish ships on their way to Turkey. Yet others had been heard on Turkish radio, broadcasting messages to their families. In the absence of proof that the missing persons had been killed or had died, Turkey was responsible for continuing deprivation of liberty of all those persons shown to have been in her custody.
Grace infringement of family rights had also occurred. Families suffered severely, being uncertain whether their loved ones were alive or dead because no account had been given of the fate of those who had disappeared although in Turkish custody.
Turkey's defense:
Turkey was not represented at the oral hearing after the Commission's dismissal of her jurisdictional objections, which included the objection that more than six months had passed since it was known that 2,000 Greek Cypriots were missing.
Commission's verdict:
The Commission, having found it established in three cases, and having found sufficient indications in an indefinite number of cases, that Greek Cypriots who are still missing were unlawfully deprived of their liberty, in Turkish custody in 1974, noting that Turkey has failed to account for the fate of these persons, concludes by 16 votes against one that Turkey has violated Article 5 of the Convention.
Displacement of persons and separation of families
Relevant article of the European Convention of Human Rights:
"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence". (Article 8)
Charge laid against Turkey:
The Turkish army sealed off the demarcation line running across the island and known as the green line in Nicosia. They physically prevented about 190,000 displaced Greek Cypriots (now including children born as refugees) from returning to their homes, and continued this policy without remission for a decade, thus aggravating earlier Turkish violations of refugees' rights for which the Commission had as long ago as 1976 condemned Turkey.
Turkey's continuing failure to allow families who had fled across the line to be reunited with their remaining relatives in the occupied area was an aggravating factor.
Condition for the 8,000 Greek Cypriots who remained in the occupied area in 1976 (mainly in Karpasia) were so harsh that between 1976 and 1979, about 7,000 were forced to sign applications to leave after suffering violence, threats, curfews, looting, forced labor, refusal of medical facilities and denial of secondary education. Most of the violence and harassment was effected through Anatolian settlers. Those Greek Cypriots who remained in the occupied area were often separated from their children: in order to receive an adequate education, children had to be sent in the free area and were not permitted by Turkey to return unless they formally acknowledged Turkish jurisdiction over Cyprus.
Turkey's defense:
At the admissibility stage, Turkey put forward jurisdictional objections. It should be borne in mind that Turkey's attitude, manifested in the first two applications, was to refuse to participate in Commission proceedings -in default of her procedural obligations under the Convention- once her jurisdictional objections were overruled. Turkey did not appear at the oral hearing in March 1983.
Commission's verdict:
The Commission concludes by thirteen votes against one that, by the refusal to allow the return of more than 170,000 Greek Cypriot refugees to their homes in the north Cyprus, Turkey violated and was continuing to violate Article 8 of the Convention in all these cases.
The Commission concludes by twelve votes against one that, by the eviction of Greek Cypriots from houses, including their own homes, by their transportation to other places within the north of Cyprus, or by the deportation across the demarcation line, Turkey has equally violates Article 8 of the Convention.
The Commission concludes by thirteen votes against one that, by the refusal to allow the return to their homes in the north of Cyprus to several thousand Greek Cypriots who had been transferred to the south under inter-communal agreements, Turkey violated, and was continuing to violate Article 8 of the Convention in all these cases.
The Commission concludes by fourteen votes against one with one abstention that, by the separation of Greek Cypriot families brought about by measures of displacement in a substantial number of cases, Turkey has again violated Article 8 of the Convention.
Relevant article of the European Convention of Human Rights:
"Every natural person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of the possession. No one shall be deprived of his possessions..." (Protocol No. 1 Article 1)
Charge laid against Turkey:
The Greek Cypriot refugees who had been driven from their homes or had fled at the time of Turkey's invasion or soon thereafter continued to be deprived of their property by the Turkish Armed Forces' refusal to allow them to return. Under Turkey's direction there was now a consolidation of informal seizures. The Turkish Cypriot puppet authorities purported in 1977 to pass a so-called "Law to Provide for the Housing and Distribution of Land and Property of Equal Value" and amended this in 1982 to give semi-permanent definitive certificates of possession to Turkish settlers (including soldiers of the occupation force) and Turkish Cypriots who had been handed Greek Cypriots property.
Wholly new deprivations occurred in respect of the 7,000 Greek Cypriots (mainly from the Karpass) who, under duress, were compelled to leave their homes and possessions and to move to the free area.
More wanton destruction of cultural objects, especially of Greek Orthodox churches and religious treasures, also occurred. Remaining antiquities were discovered to be "saleable" and found their way via Turkish hands to international dealers. Turkish Cypriots wrote about destruction, pillage, theft, smuggling, and plunder.
Turkey's defense:
At the admissibility stage, Turkey put forward jurisdictional objections. It should be borne in mind that Turkey's attitude, manifested in the first two applications, was to refuse to participate in Commission proceedings -in default of her procedural obligations under the Convention- once her jurisdictional objections were overruled. Turkey did not appear at the oral hearing in March 1983.
Commission's verdict:
The Commission by twelve votes against one, finds it established that there has been deprivation of possessions of Greek Cypriots on a large scale, the exact extent of which could not be determined. This deprivation must be imputed to Turkey under the Convention and it has not been shown that any of these interferences were necessary for any of the purposes mentioned in Article 1 of Protocol 1. The Commission concludes that this provision has been violated by Turkey.
Relevant article of the European Convention of Human Rights:
"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as race... religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority... or other status". (Article 14)
Charge laid against Turkey:
Most of Turkey's violations were directed against members of one community only, namely the Greek Cypriot community, because of their ethnic origin, race and religion. Turkey's aim was to eliminate all traces of Greek civilization and to set up a demographically homogeneous ethnically Turkish and Muslim state in the occupied area. In another context this would be condemned as apartheid or cultural genocide.
Turkey's defense:
At the admissibility stage, Turkey put forward jurisdictional objections. It should be borne in mind that Turkey's attitude, manifested in the first two applications, was to refuse to participate in Commission proceedings -in default of her procedural obligations under the Convention- once her jurisdictional objections were overruled. Turkey did not appear at the oral hearing in March 1983.
Commission's verdict:
Having found violations of a number of Articles of the Convention, the Commission notes that the acts violating the Convention were exclusively directed against members of one of two communities in Cyprus, namely the Greek Cypriot community. It concludes by eleven votes to three that Turkey has thus failed to secure the rights and freedoms set forth in these Articles without discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, race, religion as required by Article 14 of the Convention.
Relevant article of the European Convention on Human Rights:
"Everyone whose rights and freedom... are violated shall have an effective remedy..." (Article 13)
Charge laid against Turkey:
In respect of new and continuing violations from May 1976 onwards no effective remedy was provided by Turkey, whether in her own courts or those of the area she occupied. Indeed, in the occupied area Turk's puppet regime had purported to enact "Constitution", depriving Greek Cypriots of virtually all human rights and conferring "constitutional protection" in respect of many rights only on Turks.
Turkey's defense:
At the admissibility stage, Turkey put forward jurisdictional objections. It should be borne in mind that Turkey's attitude, manifested in the first two applications, was to refuse to participate in Commission proceedings -in default of her procedural obligations under the Convention- once her jurisdictional objections were overruled. Turkey did not appear at the oral hearing in March 1983.
Commission's verdict:
The Commission by thirteen votes against one and with two abstentions, has found no evidence that effective remedies, as required by Article 13 of the Convention, were in fact available.
The Commission, by eight votes against five and with two abstentions, concludes that the curfew imposed at night on enclaved Greek Cypriots in the north Cyprus, while a restriction of liberty, is not a deprivation of liberty within the meaning of Article 5(1) of the Convention.
The Commission, by twelve votes against two abstentions, further concludes that the alleged restrictions of movement outside the built-up area of villages in the north Cyprus would fall within the scope of Article 2 of Protocol No. 4, not ratifiedby either Cyprus or Turkey, rather within the scope of Article 5 of the Convention. It is therefore unable to find a violation of Article 5 insofar as the restrictions imposed on Greek Cypriots in order to prevent them from moving freely outside villages in the north of Cyprus are imputable to Turkey.
2. Detention centers
The Commission, by thirteen votes against one, concludes that, by the confinement of more than two thousand Greek Cypriots to detention centers established in schools and churches at Voni, Gypsou and Morphou, Turkey has violated Article 5(1) of the Convention.
The Commission, by thirteen votes against one, further concludes that, by the confinement of Greek Cypriots to private houses in Gypsou and Morphou, where they were kept under similar circumstances as in the detention centers, Turkey has equally violated Article 5(1).
The Commission, by ten votes against two with two abstentions, finally concludes that, by the confinement of Greek Cypriots to the Kyrenia Dome Hotel after 14 August 1974, Turkey has violated Article 5(1).
3. Prisoners and detainees
The Commission, by thirteen votes against one, concludes that the detention of Greek Cypriot military personnel in Turkey was not in conformity with Article 5(1) of the Convention.
The Commission, by thirteen votes against one, concludes that the detention of Greek Cypriot civilians in Turkey was equally not in conformity with Article 5(1).
Considering that it was unable to establish the imputability to Turkey under the Convention of the detention of 146 Greek Cypriots at Saray prison and Pavlides Garage in the Turkish sector of Nicosia, the Commission, by ten votes against two abstentions, does not consider itself called upon to express an opinion as to the conformity with Article 5 of the detention of Greek Cypriot prisoners in the north of Cyprus.
The Commission by fourteen votes against none, with two abstentions, has not found it necessary to examine the question of a breach of Article 5 with regard to persons accorded the status of prisoners of war.
The Commission by seven votes against six with three abstentions, decided not to consider as a separate issue the effect of detention on the exercise of the right to respect for one's private and family life and home (Article 8 of the Convention).
The Commission, by fourteen votes against one, considers that the evidence before it constitutes very strong indications of violations of Article 2 of the Convention by Turkey in a substantial number of cases. The Commission restricted the taking of evidence to a hearing of a limited number of representative witnesses and the Delegation, during the period fixed for the hearing of witnesses, heard eye-witnesses only concerning the incident of Elia. The evidence obtained for this incident establishes the killing of twelve civilians near Elia by Turkish soldiers commanded by an officer contrary to Article 2.
In view of the very detailed material before it on other killings alleged by the applicant Government, the Commission by fourteen votes against one, concludes from the whole evidence that killings happened on a larger scale that in Elia.
There is nothing to show that any of these deprivations of life were justified under paras. (1) or (2) of Article 2.
The Commission, by twelve votes against one, finds that the incidents of rape described in the cases referred to and regarded as established constitute "inhuman treatment" and thus violations of Article 3, for which Turkey is responsible under the Convention.
The Commission, by twelve votes against one, concludes that prisoners were in a number of cases physically ill-treated by Turkish soldiers. These acts of ill-treatment caused considerable injuries and at least in one case the death of the victim. By their severity they constitute "inhuman treatment" and thus violations of Article 3, for which Turkey is responsible under the Convention.
The Commission, by twelve votes against one, concludes that the withholding of an adequate supply of food and drinking water and of adequate medical treatment from Greek Cypriot prisoners held at Adana and detainees in the northern area of Cyprus, with the exception of Pavlides Garage and Saray prison, again constitutes, in the cases considered as established and in the conditions described, "inhuman treatment", and thus a violation of Article 3, for which Turkey is responsible under the Convention.
The Commission by eight votes against three and with one abstention, finds that the incompleteness of the investigation with regard to the allegations of forced labor does not allow any conclusions to be made on this issue.
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
"I am the scourage of god appointed to chastise you,since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity exept me.You are wicked,but I am more wicked than you,so be silent!"
3rd Report of the European Commission of Human Rights Turkey's invasion in Cyprus and aftermath
(11 February 1983 to date)
Currently continuing violations of human rights in Cyprus
As Turkey seeks to perpetuate her occupation of northern Cyprus new violations as well as continuing breaches of rights manifest themselves:
Continuing Breaches
Displacement of persons
Unremitting refusal to allow 180,000 Greek Cypriot refugees to return to the occupied area and to allow any displaced Turkish Cypriots to return to the Government-controlled area.
Deprivation of homes and properties
In May 1985 the puppet regime in the Turkish occupied area purported to introduce a "Constitution", Article 159 of which expropriated all immovable property belonging to Greek Cypriots displaced by Turkey, much of this property being taken for the use of the Turkish Army. In September 1986, the Turkish settler and Cypriot coalition "Government", announcing their program, declared that in place of definitive possession certificates they would now start giving title deeds conferring full ownership on those who had earlier been allocated Greek Cypriot-owned land.
New Breaches
Public threats to settle Varosha (Famagusta)
Turkey's puppet regime has repeatedly threatened, with an increasing intensity in 1986, to settle the as yet unoccupied Varosha area of Famagusta with Turks, instead of returning it to its 35,000 lawful inhabitants, the Greek Cypriot refugees of Varosha. (Mr Ecevit declared that Varosha could never be returned, Ankara Radio, 7.25.1986).
Threats to occupy the free area
Threats that the Turkish army will occupy the southern part of Cyprus, which is under control of the Government of the Republic, are leaked by the Turkish Government and Army to Turkey's major newspapers.
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
--- Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky, 1991, Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum