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Tuesday, 31 December 2024
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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 09-11-18Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] BARROSO CYPRUS MISSING PERSONSPresident of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso has called on Turkey to comply rapidly and fully with the judgment of the ECHR on the fate of the missing persons.Barroso expressed this position in a reply letter to member of the European Parliament, Eleni Theocharous, dated 26 August which was also addressed to Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, in which she had raised the issue of the missing persons in Cyprus. He said the Commission is aware of the urgency of this issue and the need for families to be able to determine the fate of their missing relatives, according to the letter, released on Tuesday by Theocharous. The President of the European Commission quoted the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (Cyprus vs. Turkey 2001) which said that Turkey is obliged to ensure effective investigation into the whereabouts and the fate of Greek Cypriot missing persons who have disappeared under life-threatening circumstances. It is urgent for Turkey to comply rapidly and fully with this judgment. The facts now need to be established in the specific cases drawn to my attention and if confirmed, could be deemed in breach of the Geneva Convention, said Barroso. In the meantime, the Commission continues to support fully the work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus said Barroso, adding that in August, the EU made an additional financial contribution of 2 million euros to support the outstanding work done by the CMP in Cyprus. Hundreds of Greek Cypriots combatants, women and children - went missing during the summer of 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the islands northern third. The CMP is composed of a member appointed by each of the two communities and a third member, selected by the International Committee of the Red Cross and appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The mandate of the CMP is to establish the fate of missing persons. As a result of the violence generated during those times, a total of 502 Turkish Cypriots and 1493 Greek Cypriots were officially reported as missing by both communities to the CMP. Following a number of recent identifications, the total number of missing Greek Cypriots currently stands at 1468. The 31 July 1997 Agreement, between the leaders of both communities at that time, provides for the exchange of information regarding known burial sites and the return of remains of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot missing persons. [02] GREEK PRESIDENT - CYPRUS ISSUE - TURKEYPresident of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias has warned Turkey that if it wants to join the European Union, it has to end its occupation of Cyprus northern part, adding that the position of Greece on the Cyprus issue and Turkey is clear. Speaking in Slovenia on Tuesday where he is paying an official three-day visit, said we cannot support Turkeys course towards Europe when Ankara acts as an occupation force. It is inconceivable for a country to aspire to become a full member of the EU and not recognise a country that is already a full member.He stressed that Turkey ought to recognise the Republic of Cyprus. Not only it does not but it also fails to implement the Ankara Protocol, which it has signed for its custom association with Cyprus. The Greek President noted that at Decembers European Council, Turkeys accession course will be put to question. The conditions for Turkeys accession have been set out clearly. This course cannot continue if Turkey does not fulfill its legal obligations. This is not only a problem for the Republic of Cyprus but it is also an issue of credibility and prestige for the EU itself. [03] EUROPEAN COURT - PROPERTY CASES - VERDICTThe Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in Strasbourg, will hear on Wednesday legal arguments in property cases, including the case of Demopoulos v. Turkey and seven other cases, filed by Greek Cypriots against Turkey. The cases were considered as pilot cases by the Court which has to decide whether a so-called immovable properties commission, in the northern Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, constitutes an effective domestic remedy for applications by Greek Cypriots against Turkey, relating to property claims, before they resort to the ECHR.The Court is expected to issue its verdict on the matter later today. The applicants are all Cypriot nationals of Greek-Cypriot origin, owners of movable and immovable property located in the northern part of Cyprus, which has been occupied by the Turkish army since 1974. They say that the Turkish authorities are preventing them from peacefully enjoying their property, from having access to it and disposing it as they wish. Lawyers of the eight pilot cases have told CNA that the so-called commission is not effective and does not offer real remedy. One of the lawyers, Achilleas Demetriades, said that the commission, established by the Turkish Cypriot regime in occupied Cyprus, is ineffective and noted that it was established on the basis of article 159 of the self-styled constitution of the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime in northern occupied Cyprus, which the ECHR in the case of Loizidou vs Turkey has described as illegal and void. [04] HOUSE PRESIDENT - BRUSSELS - OFFICIAL VISITPresident of the House of Representatives Marios Garoyian will meet on Wednesday EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn in Brussels. During his visit to Brussels, Garoyian has attended a reception hosted in his honour by the European Parliament-British Commonwealth friendship group as well as a dinner hosted by Cyprus` Permanent Representative to the EU Andreas Mavroyiannis.Garoyian will have separate meetings with the chairman of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Martin Schulz, co-chair of Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group Nigel Farage and the President of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group at the European Parliament, Michal Tomasz Kaminski. He will also meet the Vice Presidents of the European Parliament Stavros Lambrinides and Libor Roucek, the British MEP from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the British MEP Marina Yannakoudakis from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group in the European Parliament. In addition, Garoyian will also address an event to be attended by members of the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and then we will attend a diner hosted by Cypriot MEP Antigoni Papadopoulou. Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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