H.E. Dr. Michalis Stavrinos:

The most important element of the Famagusta issue is that under a specific Security Council resolution it is demanded to be returned to its legitimate inhabitants.

Both Ireland and the European Union could take a more active stance on this issue by asking Turkey to implement a resolution which is mandatory by definition. The European Union at every opportunity reminds Turkey of its international obligations, including the specific one, yet, it has never been put in front of Turkey as an ultimatum, that either it does this or there will be certain consequences. There is some space. We expect that with the new positive environment that the leadership and the Government of Turkey will prove to be bold enough to make this gesture but it has to be seen.

On the issue of settlers, there are two reports by the Council of Europe, one by Mr. Cuco and one by Mr. Laakso, proving that this policy of colonisation is well planned and implemented in stages and that it is a crime against humanity with the purpose of changing the demographic structure and balance of the occupied part of Cyprus. It is a crime which has to be condemned. Of course, sometimes we hear some voices talking about the humanitarian aspect of it. There is a basic principle in international law that illegality cannot produce legality, therefore, any product of a crime cannot be accepted. The Annan plan had some ideas, for example, to pay a kind of compensation to those people in order for them to return to their original places. On the question of how they have impacted on the occupied part, the Turkish Cypriots are not happy with the presence of the settlers and there are very good reasons for this. The Turkish Cypriots were Europeanised, while the settlers come from Anatolia which is one of the less developed areas of Turkey and they bring with them a fanatical, extremist Islamist outlook. Their culture and traditions are completely different from those of the Turkish Cypriots. Although before 1974, very few Turkish Cypriots were emigrating abroad, after that time they have emigrated in great numbers which combined with the massive implantation of settlers has resulted in the Turkish Cypriots being a minority in the occupied part of Cyprus. This problem needs to be dealt with by means of international law. The original and actual percentage between the two communities is 8% Greek Cypriots, 18% Turkish Cypriots and 2% Maronites, Latins and Armenians who have come to be on the island for historical reasons.

Because the two communities were widespread all over Cyprus and there was no homogenous area exclusively Turkish Cypriot or Greek Cypriot, Turkey is implementing a plan to "Turkify" the occupied part of Cyprus. For this reason it has "confiscated" all properties belonging to the Greek Cypriots. Approximately 200,000 Greek Cypriots became refugees within their own country by leaving the northern part in terror at the advance of the Turkish army in 1974. Their properties were taken with most of them given to settlers coming from Anatolia and some properties were illegally sold to foreigners. There are numerous European Court of Human Rights decisions clarifying that those properties remain in the ownership of the original Greek Cypriot owners. I refer to a famous case, the Orams case, which involved a British couple who bought property belonging to Greek Cypriots. The case was taken to the Cypriot courts and then to the British courts. The final decision was supported by the decision of the EU Court of Human Rights that the properties remain in the ownership of the original owners. If the law is followed then there would be a proper solution to the problem.