Loizidou case still open as others settle

The conclusion of a meeting by the Committee of Ministers keeps the Loizidou case open for oversight, while other cases are closed due to amicable settlement between Greek Cypriot private citizens and Turkey.

Supervision of a case concerning property rights case of Titina Loizidou is set to continue following a decision in Strasburg this week by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to continue to pursue its oversight role.

In a landmark case in 1996, the European Court had ordered Turkey to pay damages for denying Loizidou the use of her property in Kyrenia, in the northern part of ethnically-split Cyprus. Loizidou, a Greek Cypriot woman, sought to enforce the Court judgment for restitution and peaceful enjoyment of her property.

Her lawyer and presidential hopeful Achilleas Demetriades has since been arguing that Turkey violated his client’s human rights.

But Turkish officials say Ankara paid Loizidou over €1 million in 2003 and further cited the creation of an Immovable Properties Commission in the north which deals with matters of restitution of property, land exchanges, or money compensation paid to Greek Cypriots who had to give up their properties following the division of the island.

Loizidou has refused to file an application with the IPC, claiming that Turkish forces had prevented and continued to prevent her from returning to northern Cyprus and peacefully enjoying her property.

But other cases that had been pending with the Committee were closed this week during the meeting.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the Committee decided to close the review of the Tymvios and Alexandrou cases from the “Xenides-Arestis” group following amicable settlement, with the Republic of Cyprus no longer raising objection over the closure of these cases concerning property rights.

In a separate memorandum to the Strasbourg-based organization, Turkey previously said all applicants in the Xenides-Arestis group had pending proposals which they could pursue through the committee in the north.

While cases pending before the European Court were based on legal issues, media pundits and experts have also noted there was a political dimension due to the political dispute over Cyprus.

Demetriades, a human rights lawyer who may run for office in 2023, wrote in Kathimerini Cyprus this week that “citizens in Cyprus live in uncertainty, as they witness a failed government riddled with sloppiness, scandals, and misapprehension.”

Following the conclusion of the meeting in Strasburg, Demetriades took to Facebook attributing the decision to “good preparatory work” and described it as a “good development.”

“Now I believe it is time for the Cyprus Republic to decide to how many enslaved folk €60 million ought be given from the fourth interstate case of Cyprus vs. Turkey,” the lawyer wrote.

According to CNA, the Committee of Ministers also adopted an interim resolution calling on Turkey to pay damages awarded in relation to a Cyprus vs. Turkey case where the ECHR ordered Turkey in May 2014 to pay millions in non-pecuniary damages to relatives of missing persons and Greek Cypriots living in the Karpas peninsula in the north.

Demetriades says he is ready to put forth his plans and ideas for a “change of progress” while he will first consult with fellow citizens before announcing a run for president in the 2023 elections.