Download pdf version (268 kb)
31 December 2008
While Turkish Cypriots were displaced in the 1950s and 1960s into ethnic enclaves, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were displaced in 1974 when groups backed by Greece’s military government ousted the Cypriot leader, and Turkey sent troops to the island in response. Greek Cypriots fled south while Turkish Cypriots sought refuge in the north. They have been living separately ever since, divided by the “green line” patrolled by the UN Peacekeeping Force.
Talks to find a diplomatic solution failed and in 1975 the Turkish Cypriots announced the establishment of their own state, later to become the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC), which only Turkey has since recognised. With an estimated 25,000 to 43,000 troops from Turkey stationed in the north, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus considers this occupied territory, and the two sides have yet to reach a political solution.
While the TRNC authorities consider that displacement ended with the population movements achieved within the framework of the 1975 Third Vienna Agreement, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus maintains displacement persists as IDPs continue to be deprived of their right to property and return.
Despite continuing assistance, from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus to most IDPs in areas under its control, there is still no mutually agreed mechanism for deciding property claims, and people's choice of residence is limited. The resolution of their outstanding problems depends on continued political will on both sides to reach a compromise and resolve the conflict. Involvement of the displaced people in the peace process would improve the chances that an eventual agreement would hold.
30 April 2009: IDP’s right to property in north upheld
A Greek Cypriot IDP whose land had been sold to a British couple has had his right over the land
upheld by the Court of Justice of the European Communities. The Court confirmed that a Cypriot court’s judgment on the case is applicable even if it cannot be enforced due to the lack of settlement to the conflict. The Cypriot court had ordered the British couple to demolish the villa they had built on the land and pay compensation.
The appellant fled his home in 1974 after Turkish troops arrived in response to a coup to unite the island with Greece. Greek Cypriots fled south as the troops took control of the northern third of the island. Abandoned properties were distributed among Turkish Cypriots who had fled north, and some were sold on to foreigners.
The case now
returns to UK Court of Appeal; meanwhile the decision is likely to pave the way for further lawsuits against people
occupying disputed property. Observers have also commented that the ruling may be used to bolster claims that the EU is not
acting in an even-handed manner; Cyprus entered the EU in 2004, represented by the Greek Cypriot government in the south.
Both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots have been forcibly displaced by conflict and communal violence on the island. Greek Cypriots were displaced in 1974 by what they argue was an illegal Turkish military invasion and occupation, while Turkish Cypriots faced multiple rounds of displacement up to 1974 and believe the Turkish intervention liberated them from Greek Cypriot domination. In both cases, thousands of people were forced from their homes, suffered significant loss and needed large-scale assistance.
During the last wave of displacement in 1974, Greek Cypriots fled to the southern part of the Republic of Cyprus, while Turkish Cypriots took refuge in the north under what eventually was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Turkey has recognised. In the absence of a peace agreement, the areas have remained divided ever since with the UN maintaining a buffer zone between them. While many Greek Cypriots still expect to be able to return and receive a remedy for lost property, most Turkish Cypriots consider their displacement to the north a permanent move and are more concerned with what will happen to the property they are currently living in should the division of the island end. (...)
Download full Overview (260 kb)
30 June 2009