British High Court backs Orams claim

[Alana]

British High Court backs Orams claim
By Simon Bahceli

A BRITISH couple who built their retirement home on Greek Cypriot land in the occupied areas have won the right - for the time being at least - to remain on the property after a London High Court judge ruled yesterday that British, Cypriot and other EU courts held no jurisdiction over the north.

In a ruling that could set a new precedent for thousands of disputed properties on the island, Linda and David Orams from East Sussex appeared to have scored a significant victory over their Greek Cypriot landowner Meletis Apostolides. Although Apostolides claims ownership of the Lapithos lands from which he and his family fled ahead of Turkish invasion forces in 1974, the judge ruled there was nothing the British courts could do to remove the British couple from the property.

[Lapithos is a village on the Cape of Morfou, the NW part of the island. The lands there were filled with Orange trees, and the land was passed from generation to generation. Every Summer there was a Huge festival in Orange's honor]

"It is a substantial victory in a battle by them [the couple] to maintain and retain their retirement home and their home in England," a press statement on behalf of the couple said yesterday. It added ominously: "The judgment allows others in the same position to invest in the TRNC without the threat of enforcement of judgments rendered in the Republic of Cyprus in the EU."

[Let me restate: the judgment allows others to buy land, by people who don't own it and just got it after the forced occupation of that part of the island, so that they can retire in an OCCUPIED village, on the land of a man who continues to dream that one day, given that the pathocrats see it in their favor that he does so, he will return to his orange trees]

Apostolides took the couple, Linda and David Orams, to court in the UK after they refused to act on a 2005 ruling by a Cypriot court in Nicosia that they demolish the

 

[ark]

British High Court backs Orams claim
By Simon Bahceli

A BRITISH couple who built their retirement home on Greek Cypriot land in the occupied areas have won the right - for the time being at least - to remain on the property after a London High Court judge ruled yesterday that British, Cypriot and other EU courts held no jurisdiction over the north.

I do not understand what the British Court has to do with the issue. British Court may rule as it wishes, and it is up to the Courts on Cyprus to rule what happens on the part of the Cyprus that, according to the Cyprus government, belongs to Cyprus.

What is wrong with my reasoning?

 

[artichoke]

My short summary, just to see if I understand it correctly: The Turks basically took Apolostide's land by occupying his part of Cyprus, then eventually one of them sold it to the Oramses. Apolostides complained, but since possession is 9/10 (more like 99 44/100%) of the law, Apolostides is out of luck.

Since it's in the Turkish occupied (northern) part of Cyprus, the Turkish-Cypriot court would have jurisdiction, not the Greek-Cypriot court. (see for example http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107447.html for recent Cyprus history ) Since Cyprus contains two different regimes on different parts of it, there must be two separate court systems each with jurisdiction over its part. In which case when the article refers to "Cypriot" courts, it's being unclear.

"Apostolides took the couple, Linda and David Orams, to court in the UK ..." because he had the idea that if the UK couple would take his property, he would take theirs in return. Since the couple's original property was in the UK, that's where filed his suit.

But that whole idea is cockeyed. No possible offense took place in the UK. Maybe he just knew he could not win in Cyprus due to the political situation there and was trying a 1000-1 shot. It didn't pay off, and the court whacked him for probably unpayable costs. They agree with Ark that a UK court never should have been dragged into it and that nobody can help Apolostides except for the Turkish-Cypriot court, which won't help him.

 

[Alana]

Basically, artichoke you are not wrong. Yet you refer to two regimes in Cyprus and the need for 2 jurisdictions, which is the whole point: There is only one legal government in Cyprus, and thus only one legal jury system. Any article reffering to Cypriot courts must imply the Greek Cypriot courts, the only courts that exist!

Imagine a country's army entering another country, taking up it's land, killing and forcing out it's inhabitans, and then creating a regime there in the land they took up, because a number of their people were also residing there for years now. No need to imagine this though, it's been happening all over, it's the same thing with Palestine. But the thing is, in Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot people live in misery with the bestowed upon them dictatorship - that's how themselves call it - and they too want things to be as before. Turkish Cypriot journalists who oppose the pseudo regime and Greek Cypriot journalist who try to get news from that side, are jailed and harrassed!

This was in Cyprus news these days, a letter by the International Federation of Journalists:

http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?index=4170&Language=EN

EFJ Letter of Protest about Press Freedom Violations in Cyprus


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01/09/2006

Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat
Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community

Mr. Tayip Erdogan
Prime Minister of Turkey

Mr Michael Moller
Special Representative of the UN

Brussels, 1st September 2006

Dear Sirs,

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), representing over 250.000 journalists across Europe, is deeply concerned by the increasing threats to press freedom in northern Cyprus. In particular, we find it unacceptable that journalists and media workers are being intimidated and arrested while covering events in the northern part of Cyprus.

The latest example of this was the arrest of reporter Adonis Pallikarides and cameraman Nikitas Dalitis on 25 August 2006 under the pretext that they were "videotaping military installations" on a shopping-street in Nicosia. After their arrest, the two reporters were detained for several days and convicted to pay a fine.

Following these events, several media organisation from both communities of Cyprus issued statements and organised demonstrations.

In the Republic of Cyprus [correction: pseudorepublic], a meeting of press unions representing all sectors of the media took place in Nicosia on 29 August to denounce the "intimidations and the brutal actions of the Turkish occupation forces against media workers." They called on national authorities and international organizations to respect basic human rights principles such as freedom of expression and press freedom. Journalists at the meeting also considered refusing assignments in northern Cyprus in order to avoid the harassment and threats they could face while working there.

In northern Cyprus, media unions gathered on 31 August to denounce the "incorrect and arbitrary practices" against the Turkish Cypriot people, who have faced intimidation, arrest and detention in a territory that is considered almost exclusively as a "Military Restricted Zone" by the authorities.

The threats to journalists and media workers are reaching an intolerable level. We condemn the systematic use of special military regulations in the territory that is considered a "restricted zone." This constitutes a flagrant violation of the right of people to know what their administration is doing and of the right of journalists to provide that information.

The people of Cyprus need to be informed about the situation on the island and about the on-going talks for a settlement of the political problem that has been going on for several decades. As we know, at this very moment a dialogue between representatives of the two communities under the auspices of the UN is going on in Nicosia and we believe that this crucial matter of respect of the press freedom could be a very good measure of building confidence.

We call on Turkish forces and authorities in northern Cyprus to respect the fundamental right of freedom of expression, as protected by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention for Human Rights. Freedom of the press cannot exist if journalists live in fear and worry that their work will put them in danger.

We urge you to allow journalists to report without undue threats and interference throughout the territory of northern Cyprus.


Yours Sincerely,

Aidan White, General Secretary, European Federation of Journalists
Arne K