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Resolution 1333 (2003)
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Enclaved Person
The deplorable living conditions of the Cypriot enclaved can
be demonstrated by the simple recounting of their numbers following the
Turkish invasion of 1974. In July of that year the Greek Cypriot population
of the area presently occupied by the Turkish army was 162,000. At the end
of the second phase of the Turkish invasion in August 1974, 142,000 Cypriots
were expelled or forced to flee. The majority of the 20,000 Cypriots who
remained, mostly in the Karpas peninsula (Report S/11488 of the UNSG to the
Security Council dated 4 September 1974), were gradually forced to abandon
the area. According to the latest report of the Secretary General to the
Security Council the number of Greek Cypriots living in this area to date,
has diminished to 384 Greek Cypriots and 142 Maronites
(S/2007/328, 04 June 2007,
par. 27). As a consequence the total number of Cypriots expelled from their
homes rises to over 160.000, that is one third of the total population of
Cyprus in 1974.
The diminution is all the more striking considering the fact of the
agreement reached in Vienna on 2 August, 1975, by which the Turkish side
undertook to give the enclaved population “every help to lead a normal life,
including facilities for education and for the practice of their religion,
as well as medical care by their own doctors and freedom of movement in the
north”. In practice the Cypriots were subjected to constant harassment,
including physical assaults, restrictions to their movement, denial of
access to adequate medical care, denial of adequate educational facilities,
especially beyond the elementary school level, curtailment of their right to
use and bequeath their immovable property and curtailment of freedom of
worship in their churches and monasteries. This was therefore a deliberate
policy of ethnic cleansing, forcing the enclaved to abandon their homes, so
that all traces of Greek Cypriot presence in northern Cyprus would be
eradicated.
The United Nations Peace Keeping Force, mindful of the plight of the
enclaved, reviewed the situation and made several recommendations for the
amelioration of their situation, as reported by the Secretary General to the
Security Council (Report of 10 December, 1995, S/1995/1020, par. 24). Some
of the most important recommendations are as follows:
“That all restrictions on land travel should be lifted, that access to the
Apostolos Andreas Monastery should be unrestricted, that Greek Cypriots
should be allowed to travel in their own cars, that they should be allowed
to receive visitors from outside the occupied area, that children of the
enclaved forced by the Turkish side to live in the government-controlled
area for educational reasons should be allowed to visit their parents
without hindrance, that they should be allowed to bequeath their property to
their next of kin that they should be allowed to have secondary schools,
that the constant presence of “police” in their lives should end, that they
should have unrestricted access to telephones, that they should be allowed
visits by Greek Cypriot doctors, that UNFICYP should be allowed unrestricted
freedom of movement in the Karpas peninsula and liaison posts should be
established”.
Similarly, with regard to Maronites, UNFICYP recommended the lifting of all
restrictions on their freedom of movement, the establishment of a medical
centre for their needs, the provision of private telephone services, free
and unescorted access to UNFICYP, improvement of water supply to their
villages and improved access to their places of worship (Report S/1995/1020,
par. 25). Though following UNFICYP’s concern the Turkish side allowed
certain minor improvements in the lives of the enclaved, their living
conditions remain deplorable and unchanged. This conclusion is fully in
accord with the findings of the European Commission of Human Rights and the
judgment of 10 May 2001 of the European Court of Human Rights, which
examined the plight of the enclaved as part of the Fourth Interstate
Application of Cyprus against Turkey. The Commission’sReport, published on
4th September 1999, noted inter alia:
“Taken as a whole, the daily life of the Greek Cypriots in northern Cyprus
is characterized by a multitude of adverse circumstances. The absence of
normal means of communication, the unavailability in practice of the Greek
Cypriot press, the insufficient number of priests, the difficult choice
before which parents and schoolchildren are put regarding secondary
education, the restrictions and formalities applied to freedom of movement,
the impossibility to preserve property rights upon departure or death and
the various other restrictions create a feeling among the persons concerned
of being compelled to live in a hostile environment in which it is hardly
possible to lead a normal private and family life. As these adverse
circumstances in the living conditions are to a large extent the direct
result of the official policy conducted by the respondent government and its
subordinate local administration, they constitute factors by which the above
interference with the rights of the enclaved Greek Cypriots under Article 8
of the Convention are aggravated (par. 489)”.
Furthermore the Commission found that this multitude of adversities,
constituting aggravated interference with the enclaved persons’ right to
respect for their private and family life and for their home, were
discriminatory practices specifically directed against Greek Cypriots and,
to almost the same degree, against Maronites, because of their ethnic
origin, race and religion. This discrimination, the Commission concluded,
“amount(s) to degrading treatment” (par. 499). The interferences with the
normal life of the enclaved, coupled with the severity with which they are
applied, justifies the conclusion of the Report that they amount to “an
affront to their human dignity” (par. 498).
The Commission also found interference with their freedom of religion,
violation of their right to free expression arising out of the fact that
schoolbooks for elementary schools are subject to excessive censorship,
violation of Article 2 of Protocol 1 because of the denial of secondary
school education for their children and a continuing violation of their
right to peaceful enjoyment of their possessions arising out of the practice
of the Turkish Cypriot “authorities” to take over possession of the property
of all enclaved who leave from the occupied area or die.
The European Court of Human Rights has, in its judgment of 10 May 2001, on
the case of Cyprus v. Turkey, Application no 257 (81/94), for the first
time, pronounced itself on the overall legal consequences of Turkey´s
invasion and continued military presence in Cyprus. The Court´s
findings about the treatment of the few Greek Cypriots and Maronites still
resident in the occupied area are quite significant. The Court notes that
the right to respect for family life of the enclaved Greek Cypriots was
seriously impeded by measures imposed by the “TRNC” to limit family
reunification denying the possibility of leading a normal family life (par.
292-293). The Court noted that Greek Cypriots community were monitored in
respect of their contacts and movements and that surveillance extended to
the presence of State agents inside the homes of Greek Cypriots on the
occasion of social or other visits (par.294). The Court held that such
highly intrusive and invasive acts violated the right of the Greek Cypriot
population in the Karpas region to respect to their private and family life”
(par.295). The Court endorsed the Commission´
s conclusion that
“The restrictions which beset the daily lives of the enclaved Greek Cypriots
create a feeling among them “of being compelled to live in a hostile
environment in which it is hardly possible to lead a normal private and
family life”. The Commission noted in support of this conclusion that the
adverse circumstances to which the population concerned was subjected
included: the absence of normal means of communication (…); the
unavailability in practice of the Greek Cypriot press (...); the
insufficient number of priests (…); the difficult choice with which parents
and schoolchildren were faced regarding secondary education (…); the
restrictions and formalities applied to freedom of movement, including, the
Court would add, for the purposes of seeking medical treatment and
participation in bi- or inter-communal events; the impossibility of
preserving property rights upon departure or on death.”
The Court
added that such restrictions were factors aggravating the violations (par.
301). What is more the Court noted the view of the UN Secretary-General that
the severe restrictions entailing the exercise of basic freedoms had the
effect of ensuring that “inexorably, with the passage of time, the Karpas
community would cease to exist.” This would be the consequence of the
prohibition on bequeathing property to relatives outside the north and to
the denial of the right of ultimate return of children who left in order to
obtain secondary education (par. 307). The prevailing situation led,
according to the Court, to the inescapable conclusion “that the
interferences at issue were directed at the Karpas Greek-Cypriot community
for the very reason that they belonged to this class of persons. The
treatment to which they were subjected during the period under consideration
can only be explained in terms of the features which distinguish them from
the Turkish-Cypriot population, namely their ethnic origin, race and
religion. The Court would further note that it is the policy of the
respondent State to pursue discussions within the framework of the
inter-communal talks on the basis of bi-zonal and bi-communal principles
(…). The respondent State’s attachment to these principles must be
considered to be reflected in the situation in which the Karpas Greek
Cypriots live and are compelled to live: isolated, restricted in their
movements, controlled and with no prospect of renewing or developing their
community. The conditions under which that population is condemned to live
are debasing and violate the very notion of respect for the human dignity of
its members”.
In the Court’s opinion and with reference to the period under consideration,
the discriminatory treatment attained a level of severity which amounted to
degrading treatment” (par. 309 and 310). The Court also found that the Greek
Cypriots of the Karpas had had their rights to freedom of religion under
Article 9, violated by restrictions which prevented organisation of Greek
Orthodox religious ceremonies in a normal and regular manner (refusal to
approve appointment of priests and restrictions to access to Apostolos
Andreas Monastery, as well as restrictions on to access to places of worship
outside their villages) (par. 243-346). The Court also found that Article 10
(freedom of expression) was violated, because of excessive censorship
applied to primary school-books, large numbers of which, no matter how
innocuous their contents, were unilaterally censored or rejected by the
“TRNC” authorities (par. 252 and 254)”.
The Court noted the fact that the immovable property of Greek Cypriots in
the Karpas who left the “TRNC” permanently was deemed as “abandoned” and
therefore liable to allocation to third parties. This was a continuing
violation of Article 1 of Protocol 1. Refusal to recognise the inheritance
rights of persons living in southern Cyprus to property of their deceased
relatives in northern Cyprus was also a violation of Article 1, because
peaceful enjoyment of such persons´
possessions is not secured (par. 269 and 270).
In the summer of 2005 the occupation regime informed the Greek Cypriot
enclaved persons in the Karpas area, that they were required to pay the
occupation regime for the consumption of electricity since 1974.This demand
was deemed as unacceptable and inhumane, considering the fact that since
1974, the government of the Republic of Cyprus has been providing
electricity, of a total of CYP £150m, to Turkish-Cypriots uninterruptedly,
without even demanding any payment. During the same period the occupation
forces suspended the right of enclaved persons to use their vehicles in the
occupied areas and demanded that the owners pay “the required import tax” to
the occupation regime. Both demands were recalled, after strong demarches to
the UN and to foreign governments.
In September 2005, three months after the adoption of an Interim Resolution
by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and four years after
the adoption of the Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the
Fourth Interstate Application of Cyprus against Turkey, a secondary school
was allowed to operate in Karpas. Contrary to the assurances given for the
full and unimpeded operation of the school, the occupation forces only
allowed the operation of the first three grades of the school.
Furthermore, delays which
continue to occur in the delivery of books to the school and the prevention
of appointed teachers to start their teaching assignments, has seriously
inhibited the full and efficient operation of the school.
In conclusion,
the plight of the enclaved Cypriots, both Greeks and Maronites, continues
unabated despite the protestations and calls of the Cyprus government for
the need to fully implement the 1975 Vienna III Agreement. To this moment, a
literature teacher appointed to the Rizokarpaso secondary school is yet to
be allowed to cross to the occupied areas (no reason given) although all
relevant documents and information have been submitted to UNFICYP since
December 2005, while the occupation forces do not allow a second appointed
priest to cross to the occupied areas to perform his duties.
Turkey is
required to take further action for the amelioration of the unacceptable
living conditions of the Cypriots enclaved in the Turkish-occupied part of
Cyprus. The continuing affront to human dignity of the enclaved, as the
Commission found, is an affront on the human dignity of all people.
PIO
June, 2007
Cyprus Problem - Enclaved
The
aftermath of the Turkish invasion in 1974
In
the aftermath of the Turkish invasion in 1974, about 20,000 people - mainly
Greek Cypriots including just over a thousand Maronites - found themselves
cut off behind enemy lines in their villages in the north-eastern Karpass
peninsula and in the Maronite villages west of Kyrenia town.
This group of people known as the enclaved remained in their villages
in the hope that, following the ceasefire, they would be able, unperturbed,
to carry on with their normal way of life. Unfortunately their hopes were
soon frustrated. The illegal Turkish occupation regime adopted a policy of
oppression, human rights violation and harassment, in an effort to drive
these people out of their homes and properties.
By December 1974, 12,000 people had chosen to remain in their homes
in the areas occupied by the Turkish army, instead of moving to the
Government-controlled part of Cyprus. Over the years, these people became
victims of a policy of ethnic cleansing by the Turkish occupying forces. The
denial of their basic human rights by the occupiers, the harsh living
conditions and the constant harassment they were forced to endure, had the
consequence that many of them abandoned their homes and properties in the
occupied area and crossed over to the Government - controlled area as
displaced persons. The result of these human rights abuses was that the
number of the enclaved gradually declined and, sadly, now only 546 people,
mostly elderly, remain in the occupied area. A humanitarian review
undertaken by the UN Peace-Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
in 1995 (S/1995/1020), documents in detail the situation. It observes: "The
Greek Cypriots of Karpass are now a small minority in a part of Cyprus,
which was once almost totally Greek Cypriot, and they are subjected to a
system whose long-term aim appears to be directed towards the eventual
extinction of the Greek Cypriot community in Karpass".
The Government of Cyprus brought up this serious matter during
negotiations with the Turkish Cypriot side, held under the auspices of the
United Nations on 2 August 1975 in Vienna.
Under mounting international pressure, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr
Denktash signed, in the presence of the then UN Secretary-General Mr Kurt
Waldheim, a humanitarian agreement, the implementation of which would
improve the living conditions of the enclaved.
The agreement, known as the
Vienna III Agreement,
stipulated that the Greek Cypriots and Maronites, who had remained in the
occupied part of Cyprus, would be free to stay, be reunited with the
families and given every help to lead a normal life, including facilities
for education and for the practice of their religion, as well as medical
care by doctors of their own community. The United Nations would have free
and normal access to Greek Cypriot villages and habitations in the north.
The Turkish side, however, did not implement any of the measures it
had agreed to. The enclaved are still denied access to their doctors, no
secondary schools are allowed to operate and in the two existing primary
schools the textbooks are severely censored. Moreover, the enclaved are not
allowed freedom of movement. They are restricted to their villages and
immediate surroundings and members of families living in the
Government-controlled area, who are over 18-year-old, are not allowed to
visit them.
The UN Secretary-General has repeatedly noted in his reports to the
Security Council that the Greek Cypriots and Maronites in the northern part
of the island are far from leading the normal life they were promised under
the agreement reached between the two sides at Vienna.
The European Court of Human
Rights finds Turkey guilty of human rights violations of the enclaved
The
European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly found Turkey guilty of human
rights violations during and after the invasion and occupation of the
northern part of Cyprus. In its judgment on May 10, 2001, in the case of
Cyprus V. Turkey (application no.25781/94), the Court found Turkey guilty,
by sixteen votes to one (the Turkish vote), of 14 violations of the European
Convention of Human Rights. Out of these, seven violations concerned the
living conditions of the enclaved people in the Turkish occupied area
of Cyprus. More specifically, the Court held that Turkey committed the
following violations:
- a violation of Article 9 (freedom of thought,
conscience and religion) in respect of Greek Cypriots living in northern
Cyprus, concerning the effects of restrictions on freedom of movement
which limited access to places of worship and participation in other
aspects of religious life.
- a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression)
in respect of Greek Cypriots living in northern Cyprus in so far as
school-books destined for use in their primary school were subject to
excessive measures of censorship.
- a continuing violation of Article 1 of Protocol
No. 1 in respect of Greek Cypriots living in northern Cyprus in that
their right to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions was not
secured in case of their permanent departure from that territory and in
that, in case of death, inheritance rights of relatives living in
southern Cyprus were not recognised.
- a violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (right
to education) in respect of Greek Cypriots living in northern Cyprus in
so far as no appropriate secondary-school facilities were available to
them.
- a violation of Article 3 in that the Greek
Cypriots living in the Karpass area of northern Cyprus had been
subjected to discrimination amounting to degrading treatment.
- a violation of Article 8 concerning the right of
Greek Cypriots living in northern Cyprus to respect for their private
and family life and to respect for their home.
- a violation of Article 13
by reason of the absence, as a matter of practice, of remedies in
respect of interferences by the authorities with the rights of Greek
Cypriots living in northern Cyprus under Articles 3, 8, 9 and 10 of the
Convention and Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol No. 1.
PACE
adopts Resolution for the enclaved condemning Turkey and T/C occupation
regime
On
24 June 2003, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
adopted a resolution condemning Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot occupation
regime for violations of the rights and freedoms of the enclaved.
Resolution 1333 (2003)
was adopted, with an overwhelming majority, following a presentation and
joint debate of the
report
of PACE’s Rapporteur on the Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Greek
Cypriots and Maronites living in the northern part of Cyprus, Swiss MP Mr
Dick Marty.
In Resolution 1333 (2003), PACE expresses its extreme concern and
shock over the status and living conditions imposed upon the Greek Cypriot
and Maronite communities living in the occupied areas of the Republic of
Cyprus and insists that “the Turkish Cypriot administration controlling the
northern part of the island, as well as Turkey which assumes de facto legal
co-responsibility in this part of the island, cease all humiliation of the
Greek and Maronite communities and put an end to the climate of
intimidation”.
The Assembly further demands that the occupation regime and Turkey
end the dispossessions affecting members of these communities, ensure
freedom of education and worship for Orthodox Christians and Maronites, end
the restrictions on movement across the demarcation line, grant all
inhabitants the right to an effective remedy, ensure equal access to medical
care and permit the communities to freely choose their representatives
themselves.
The resolution also conveys the Assembly’s agreement with the
conclusions of the European Court of Human Rights in its aforementioned
Cyprus v. Turkey judgment establishing violations of the human rights of the
Greek Cypriot and Maronite communities living in the Turkish-occupied areas.
It concludes by expressing the position that, as history has shown,
“the different social, political, religious, cultural and linguistic
constituents present on the island are perfectly capable of living together
in peace and harmony”.
PIO
______________________________________________________________________________
The Third Vienna
Agreement - August 1975
Communique issued
after the third phase
of the intercommunal talks in Vienna
The third round of
talks on Cyprus was held in Vienna from 31 July to 2 August 1975.
Preliminary
discussions were held on the powers and functions of a federal government on
the basis of the original Greek Cypriot proposals submitted at the first
round, the Turkish Cypriot paper of the 21st of July and the more
comprehensive paper presented by Mr. Clerides at this meeting. Further
examination of this subject will continue in Nicosia with a view to a final
discussion, together with the other aspects relating to the solution of the
Cyprus problem, at the next round of talks. Mr. Denktash expressed his views
on the comprehensive paper submitted by Mr. Clerides and also on his own
proposals for a transitional joint government submitted by him on 18 July.
Mr. Clerides referred to his previous position in this regard.
A discussion of the
geographical aspects of a future settlement of the Cyprus problem took
place. It was agreed that Mr. Clerides and Mr. Denktash would have further
private talks on this subject prior to the fourth round of the Cyprus talks
with a view to preparing the discussion of this matter which will take place
at that time.
In addition the
following was agreed:
1. The Turkish
Cypriots at present in the South of the Island will be allowed, if they want
to do so, to proceed North with their belongings under an organized
programme and with the assistance of UNFICYP.
2. Mr. Denktash reaffirmed, and it was agreed, that the Greek Cypriots at
present in the North of the Island are free to stay and that they will be
given every help to lead a normal life, including facilities for education
and for the practice of their religion, as well as medical care by their own
doctors and freedom of movement in the North.
3. The Greek Cypriots at present in the North who, at their own request and
without having been subjected to any kind of pressure, wish to move to the
South will be permitted to do so.
4. UNFICYP will have free and normal access to Greek Cypriot villages and
habitations in the North.
5. In connection with the implementation of the above agreement priority
will be given to the re-unification of families, which may also involve the
transfer of a number of Greek Cypriots, at present in the South, to the
North.
The question
of displaced persons was also re-examined.
Although both sides
again affirmed that they were not knowingly holding undeclared
prisoners-of-war or other detainees, it was agreed mutually to extend full
facilities for searches in response to information given by either side.
Both sides declared
that the Nicosia International Airport, which has been repaired by the
United Nations under the agreement reached at the first round, can be used,
as a first step, by the United Nations for its needs.
The fourth round of
talks will take place, due to the Secretary General’s commitments in regard
to the General Assembly, at United Nations headquarters in New York on 8 and
9 September 1975.
2 August, 1975
_________________________________________________________________________________
Resolution 1333 (2003) [1
Rights and fundamental freedoms of Greek Cypriots
and Maronites living in the northern part of Cyprus
Provisional edition
Resolution 1333 (2003)
[1]
1. The Assembly once again
expresses its serious concern, noting that the island of Cyprus continues to
be rigorously and arbitrarily divided into two parts and that such a
situation has lasted for more than thirty years, without any improvement.
2. All the people living in
Cyprus, in the northern as well as the southern part, are protected by the
European Convention for the protection of Human Rights, since the Republic
of Cyprus acceded to this Convention on 6 October 1962.
3. The Assembly agrees with
the opinion expressed by the European Court of Human Rights in its judgment
of 10 May 2001 in the case of Cyprus v. Turkey, that Turkey's responsibility
under the Convention also extends to actions of the Turkish Cypriot
administration: Turkey therefore has a general obligation to secure respect
for the human rights safeguarded by the Convention for all persons in the
territory controlled by the Turkish Cypriot administration.
4. The Parliamentary
Assembly is extremely concerned by the status imposed upon the Greek Cypriot
and Maronite communities that have remained north of the demarcation line
and by the resulting violations of human rights, as established by the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
5. The Parliamentary
Assembly nonetheless welcomes the recent positive developments in Cyprus,
especially the opening of borders and granting of the freedom of movement,
which could considerably ameliorate the situation of the Greek Cypriots and
Maronites that have remained north of the demarcation line.
6. The Assembly considers
that a general settlement of the Cypriot conflict should never be at the
expense of the communities that have opted to continue to live there where
they have always resided.
7. The Assembly agrees with
the conclusions of the European Court of Human Rights in its aforementioned
Cyprus v. Turkey judgment establishing violations of the human rights of the
Greek Cypriot and Maronite communities living in the northern part of
Cyprus.
8. The Assembly is
particularly shocked by the imposed division of families, the prohibition on
young people returning to their homes, the arbitrary confiscations and
expropriations and the general climate of apprehension and uncertainty, even
fear, to which members of these communities are deliberately subjected.
9. The Assembly insists that
the Turkish Cypriot administration controlling the northern part of Cyprus,
as well as Turkey which assumes de facto legal co-responsibility in
this part of the island, as indicated in paragraph 3 above:
a.
cease all humiliation of the Greek and Maronite communities and put an end
to the climate of intimidation;
b.
end the dispossessions affecting members of these communities, by returning
to the members of these communities the property and possessions of which
they have been arbitrarily dispossessed, individually or collectively, or
failing that offer them just compensation;
c.
ensure freedom of education and worship for Orthodox Christians and
Maronites;
d.
end the restrictions on movements across the demarcation line and
immediately grant Greek Cypriots living in the northern part of Cyprus at
least the same rights as those already granted to Maronites;
e.
grant all inhabitants the right to an effective remedy;
f.
ensure equal access to medical care;
g.
permit the communities to freely choose their representatives themselves.
10. The Assembly urges all the
representatives of the civil society of Cyprus, independently of the
community to which they belong, to do their utmost to bring about a climate
of mutual understanding, of dialogue and of tolerance between the different
social, political, religious, cultural and linguistic constituents present
on the island, who, as history has shown, are perfectly capable of living
together in peace and harmony.
[1]. Assembly debate on 24
June 2003 (19th Sitting) (see
Doc. 9714,
report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr
Marty). Text adopted by the Assembly on 24 June 2003 (19th
Sitting)
PIO
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