Homeward bound?
A Greek Cypriot's decades-long struggle to return home has important repercussions for refugees worldwide, writes Michael Jansen from Nicosia
The Turkish government's recent decision to pay compensation to a Greek Cypriot refugee for denying her the use of her property in northern Cyprus could be an important precedent for awarding damages to displaced refugees in the region, many of whom have been displaced for almost 30 years.
Turkey's payment of 1.2 million euros to Tatiana Loizidou represented a partial implementation of several judgments issued by the European Court of Human Rights in 1996 and 1998. In its first judgment, the court ruled that Turkey's refusal to allow Loizidou access to her property in Kyrenia, her picture post-card hometown, was a violation of her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling also found that Turkey, in spite of its 40,000 troops in the breakaway "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", had no legal jurisdiction and could not deprive Greek Cypriot citizens of their property and right of abode.
A subsequent ruling by the court awarded Loizidou 1.2 million euros in compensation for the violation of her rights and ordered Turkey to allow her "peaceful enjoyment" of her property in northern Cyprus.
For seven years the Turkish government refused to implement the court's rulings, claiming that they were politically motivated. However, threatened with sanctions by the Council of Europe -- including expulsion -- Turkey agreed to pay compensation if a compromise could be worked out in terms of Loizidou's right to return to Kyrenia. Thanks to pressure from Turkey's friends Britain and Holland, the council postponed further action regarding Loizidou's right to return to Kyrenia until 2005. Cyprus, Greece and Russia strongly objected to the compromise, arguing that it amounted to non-compliance of the European Court of Human Rights' ruling. In the end, Loizidou accepted the compromise but vowed to carry on with her struggle for full implementation.
Loizidou, one of an estimated 180,000 Greek Cypriot refugees, claims that her victory in this landmark case came about in part because she repeatedly tried to go home and reclaim her property. Her most recent attempt in March 1989 was a turning point. It was then that she crossed the UN-monitored buffer zone into the occupied north along with some 8,000 other Greek Cypriot women who marched under the banner of the Women Walk Home movement. The women breached the Green Line which divides the island upon which the Turkish army promptly seized 20 women, including Loizidou. The women were put on a bus and taken to the Turkish Cypriot sector of Nicosia and, after being detained for 10 hours, were finally released to the United Nations. According to Loizidou "that was a point of reference in my life, because I later filed the application for being prevented from returning home."
The European Court on Human Rights' 1996 ruling pointed out that Loizidou was not only denied the right to live on her property but also prevented from going home during four marches organised by Women Walk Home. An important part of Loizidou's case were photographs of her being physically prevented from going to Kyrenia by Turkish soldiers whose army units could be easily identified by their uniforms.
Her lawyer, Achilleas Demetriades, told Al-Ahram Weekly, that "by being forced to make this payment, Turkey recognises it is responsible for human rights violations in the occupied areas". He explained that "every single person who has property in the occupied areas believes that their title deeds are still valid. So even if they have not been able to use their property for the last 30-odd years it is now up to them to decide whether they want to assert their rights along the path that Mrs Loizidou has opened." Demetriades also pointed out that Loizidou's case had wider implications that providing hope to Greek Cypriot refugees. "[Loizidou's case] is an example of a local violation of human rights which has a European and, perhaps, a global effect.".
While Turkey will likely have a difficult time defending its refusal to consider other Greek Cypriot claims, Turkey now also may be facing a challenged by groups representing some of the country's 378,000-1,000,000 Kurds driven from their homes when the Turkish Workers Party launched its insurgency in the early 1980s. Many of these Kurds now live in conditions of extreme poverty and overcrowding in Turkey's cities. Only 37,000 have been allowed to go home under the government's Return to Village and Rehabilitation scheme and returnees receive no material support and often face insecurity and persecution. Many more are prevented from returning due to financial and official obstacles.
The Loizidou case puts Turkey in a precarious situation. Turkey's attempts to delay Loizidou's right to return could jeopardise its own European Union (EU) accession prospects. If Turkey allows Loizidou to return however, it could open the floodgates to a wave of not only Greek Cypriots demanding to go home but Kurds as well, a situation the government desperately wants to avoid.
Palestinian citizens of Europe could also use the Loizidou precedent to claim compensation and repatriation from Israel as well as demand that the EU abrogate trade concessions granted to Israel unless it complies.
The Loizidou case has the potential to send an important message that ethnic cleansing carries a high price. It is now up to the powers-that-be within Europe to make certain that, as per the European Court on Human Rights' ruling, Tatiana Loizidou maintains her right to return home. Failure to do so would grant the ethnic cleansers a charter to carry on their evil enterprise.
