New law criminalizing the sale of Greek Cypriot property in the Occupied North

[akritas]

By Menelaos Hadjicostis

A new law criminalizing the sale of Greek Cypriot property in the north has triggered Turkish Cypriot anger over what they say is a vindictive measure intended to shut them out of the government-controlled areas.

But senior government officials dismissed any notion the law intended to punish ordinary Turkish Cypriots but rather aimed at stymieing illegal transactions involving Greek Cypriot property.

An amendment to the Penal Code that came into force on Oct. 20 empowers police to prosecute any individual irrespective of nationality for engaging in the illegal buying or selling of Greek Cypriot property.

Article 303A states, “an individual who, with intent to defraud, engages in transactions involving immoveable property belonging to a third person is guilty of a criminal offense and is subject to a seven year prison term.”

Transactions are defined as selling, buying or renting Greek Cypriot property to a third person. Touting or advertising such property sales are also considered illegal.

Also facing the maximum seven-year jail sentence are individuals entering into an agreement to buy such property whether or not they know the transaction was completed without the Greek Cypriot owners’ consent.

Couple remanded

It was on the strength of this new law that a Nicosia District Court remanded a Russian couple on suspicion of buying a home in Turkish-held Lapithos that was built on Greek Cypriot land.

Hundreds of foreign nationals – mostly Britons - have illegally purchased Greek Cypriot property in the north over the last few years, despite numerous European and international court rulings affirming the land’s true ownership.

A noticeable spike in such purchases occurred in the wake of the April, 2004 Annan Plan referendums, a period that also saw a parallel construction boom almost exclusively on Greek Cypriot land that makes up more than four fifths of all property in the north.

The arrest of the Russian couple ignited a firestorm of protest in the north as a remark by Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleous was interpreted to suggest that the law specifically targeted Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris screamed on this front page “Great threat from the Greek Cypriots”, with other newspapers carrying similar headlines.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat told Kibris that enforcing this law would mean the de facto closing of all crossing points across the ceasefire line.



Dangerous game

Speaking to Bayrak, ‘state TV’ Talat said the law was a vehicle for President Tassos Papadopoulos to ratchet up tensions between the two communities.

“He (Papadopoulos) is playing a very dangerous game,” said Talat.

Cumhurriyet quoted Building Contractors’ Union boss Soner Yetkili as saying that 80% of Turkish Cypriots have some sort of connection to Greek Cypriot property in the north and that the law represents “a very great danger to everybody”.
Around 7,000 Turkish Cypriots hold down jobs in the government-controlled south and cross the ceasefire line every day.

Soothing fears of wholesale arrests was House Speaker Demetris Christofias who was quoted by Kibris as saying that the law would target those involved in the buying and selling of Greek Cypriot property instead of ordinary Turkish Cypriots who live in Greek Cypriot homes.

In a written statement, Sophocleous said he was misquoted and didn’t mean to single out Turkish Cypriots for prosecution.

“(The law) condemns anyone who sells, rents, mortgages, or in any other way engages in a property transaction without the consent of the registered owner. I referred to the law and generally to anyone, based on this law, who commits an illegal act,” said Sophocleous.

But Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation Chairman Emine Erk said the law itself contains “very general, sweeping and vague” terms that don’t specify who would be excluded from prosecution.

“Perhaps…there will be a targeting of dealers, or exploiters, or developers ‘systematically dealing in Greek Cypriot land and selling it to foreigners. I can understand the logic and motivation behind that statement,” Erk told The Cyprus Weekly in an e-mail message.

“But how will this be defined or implemented? Can an average Turkish Cypriot - for example a Turkish Cypriot refugee living in Greek Cypriot property - expect to be detained and investigated to see if they fall into this category?

“Will they think crossing into the south is worth the stress? Will they bother? What happens to prospects – however slim – for rapprochement?” said Erk.


http://www.cyprusweekly.com.cy/defau...geNewsID=304_2

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