Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-08-01

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Saturday, August 1, 1998

How will Turkey react to Loizidou ruling?

THE EUROPEAN Court of Human Rights' decision to order Turkey to pay compensation to Greek Cypriot Titina Loizidou for occupying her property in Kyrenia continued to grab the headlines yesterday.

The Greek side believes the decision will have serious consequences both for Cyprus problem developments and for Turkey's EU aspirations, Phileleftheros reported.

The government hopes the decision will give the "right messages" to foreign negotiators dealing with the Cyprus problem. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis was quoted as saying the decision came at a "critical juncture" for the Cyprus problem, a time when the Turkish side was trying to legalise its occupation. The Turkish side had dismissed the court ruling as irrelevant, arguing that the unrecognised 'TRNC' and not the Turkish government was responsible for the occupied areas, Phileleftheros stated.

Machi reported that the court decision had caused a shock to Turkish officials in Ankara because it constituted a strong condemnation of everything Turkey was doing on the island.

According to Alithia, the government believes the court decision could prove a catalyst for a settlement, especially if more refugees were successful with similar court actions against Turkey.

It was unlikely Turkey would be able to avoid abiding by the decision if the country wished to remain part of the "European system", the paper reported.

Ankara is maintaining that matters concerning compensation for property loss following 1974, for both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, should be dealt with by the "two states" on the island.

The Turks add that the UN have already tabled proposals for compensation deals following a settlement, Alithia stated.

The government is to decide how best to take advantage of the deal during an upcoming National Council meeting.

Simerini quoted Loizidou's lawyer Achilleas Demetriades as saying Turkey could be made to pay the compensation by targeting Turkish assets in European countries. Demetriades added that Turkey could face a compensation bill of £4 billion if every one of the 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees appealed to the European Court of Human Rights and won the same £20,000 in moral damages that Loizidou did.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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