Front Page Headlines
Lute’s proposal was not included in the report
Turkey appears to object to EU’s participation in a conference to set the procedure. The (UN) Secretary-General’s envoy suggested a new conference to set the steps and a timeframe. In his report, Antonio Guterres is strongly critical of the two leaders.
- Turkey returns properties – Low (property) valuations due to the land registry department.
He keeps the door open
The Secretary-General gives a continuation to the effort for the resumption of talks through Lute. Discussions about a preparatory conference of involved parties specifically on the Terms of Reference.
Another chance to the two leaders
The UN Secretary-General reiterates in his report to the Security Council that the means for a viable solution to the Cyprus problem remain, mainly, in the hands of the sides. He notes that a settlement will demand that each side accept less than the fullest measure of satisfaction on every issue and calls on all sides to realise the necessary sense of “urgency”.
- They returned two of her five properties
- They justify favourable treatment to their own
- ‘Dikomo ‘74’ honoured the man and politician Demetris Christofias for his contribution to the country
Pissouri residents fear electrocution
The EAC visits every day to contain latest danger from land slippage.
Report-Alarm
In his report to the Security Council, Antonio Guterres avoided attributing responsibilities but sent serious messages. Despite lack of progress, the Secretary-General keeps the effort for the Terms of Reference alive but points out that a rhetoric has developed on the island – in tone and substance – that emphasises the differences that continue to divide the communities, rather than their common future.
- Searching for the missing – It doesn’t matter if those we are searching for are GC or TC, soldiers or civilians.
- Occupied areas – Rare decision for the return of property to British Cypriot.
Main News
Gov’t satisfied with Guterres report, majority of opposition not so much
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Nicosia is satisfied with the report of the UN Secretary-General on his Good Offices mission since he is willing to continue efforts through his envoy Jane Holl Lute, while the majority of opposition parties slam the report for not chastising Turkey, the papers reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, some dailies report that Lute had suggested a preparatory conference with the participation of all involved parties to discuss the Terms of Reference (ToR), which was not included in the UNSG’s report.
All papers, citing a diplomatic source that spoke to the Cyprus News Agency, report that Nicosia is satisfied with the report as references on several issues are better than in the previous one in October, for example as regards the issue of hydrocarbons. What’s important is that Lute will be continuing her efforts to facilitate the formulation of the ToR for the resumption of talks, said the source.
Ruling party DISY echoed the government’s position through its leader Averof Neophytou who said that Guterres’ reference to his six-point framework for the continuation of negotiations was indicating the way forward and had “opened a new window of hope”.
The Guterres Framework, he said, is the path and the road shown by the Secretary-General and it is up to the two communities, the three guarantor powers and the EU whether or not it will lead to a new Crans-Montana that will be well prepared, as the report mentioned, but not open-ended.
Main opposition AKEL’s parliamentary spokesman Giorgos Loucaides welcomed Guterres’ expressed intention to continue the efforts to resume negotiations, adding that at the same time the Secretary-General’s report sends warning signals to all sides.
Despite the fact that Guterres has low expectations, Loucaides said, he suggests there is still hope provided that the parties involved in the process are looking to a specific goal and have the determination to see it through to a successful conclusion with a visible horizon.
He said AKEL expects from all sides to utilise the limited time without delay to reach the ToR and resumption of talks based on the Guterres Framework.
DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos expressed his discontent over the fact the report did not refer to the high-level agreements of 1977 and 1979 and the resolutions of the UN Security Council. Guterres, he said, is criticising the public rhetoric on the island but does not mention the provocative and threatening behaviour of Turkey and of the occupation regime within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, in Strovilia and Deneia. Turkey, he said, was left off the hook once more.
EDEK said the report confirms the failure of the resumption of talks due to the ambiguity regarding the basis and the process which each of the parties involved approaches and interprets differently.
For the Citizens’ Alliance, the report has positive and negative points. Leader Giorgos Lillikas said the report sits on the fence with the positive being that Guterres wants that way to keep the procedure alive. He said, however, that the report satisfies Ankara on some substantive points such as the Guterres Framework referring to June 30, leaving thus President Nicos Anastasiades exposed since he keeps referring to July 4 and the clarifications given by the then representative of the UNSG.
Leader of the Greens, Giorgos Perdikis said that he was disappointed with the report due to the absence of references on the hostile actions of the Turks in Strovilia, Ayios Sozomenos and the issue of the Pyla football match. In his effort to keep equal distances, he said, Guterres, once more, does not do justice to the victim of the invasion.
Head of the Solidarity Movement Eleni Theocharous also criticises Guterres’ neutral stance and absence of references on the withdrawal of the Turkish army, end to the occupation, or a solution to the Cyprus problem in such a way as to protect the human and political rights “of our people”.
Phileleftheros reported that Lute will carry out a new round of contacts in a bid to achieve common ground for the talks to proceed. During her last round of consultations, the daily reported, Lute had suggested a preparatory meeting, just like the one in Crans Montana in 2017 but this time all parties involved would discuss the ToR. Citing sources, the paper said that this was also Anastasiades’ idea.
What Lute was discussing during the last few days was a preparatory meeting ahead of a new Conference on Cyprus. This move was made after the negative answer by Anastasiades to her proposal to hold a meeting with the participation of Greece, Turkey and the leaders of the two communities.
Nicosia’s expressed satisfaction with the report confirms reports that the government was concerned that Guterres might call it a day, which was a distant possibility but a real one, Phileleftheros said.
In another article, Phileleftheros, reports that Guterres mentions he will submit his report on UNFICYP to the Security Council on July 10. Citing diplomatic sources in New York, the daily reports that if Lute’s efforts do not bear fruit by then, the decision on the next steps will lie with the Security Council, depending on the UNSG’s suggestions.
Politis, citing well-informed sources, reported that Lute’s proposal concerned a preparatory meeting with the participation also of the EU, possibly in Geneva, to discuss procedure and shape a clear timeframe for the sides on what will be discussed, when and for how long. All sides had to agree so that the next steps could be taken, the daily reported, adding that the GC side is positive but that Turkey appears to be reluctant mainly due to the participation of the EU. This may also be the reason Lute’ proposal was not included in the Guterres report.
According to Alithia, Guterres indirectly but clearly takes a stand in his report on the issue of the six-point framework he submitted in Crans Montana by referring only to the Framework he had submitted on June 30, 2017 while avoiding any comment on his clarifications given on July 4.
KEY ACTORS
Neophytou (DISY)
>> Guterres shows the way forward with his Framework as the basis for continuing talks, but it is up to sides to get to a new Conference on Cyprus following thorough preparation & within timeframe.
Loucaides (AKEL)
>> Welcomes Guterres’ intention to continue efforts. Points out that all sides must read between the lines of the report.
>> Calls on all sides to take advantage of the limited time without delay to agree on the ToR.
Papadopoulos (DIKO)
>> Guterres criticises public rhetoric on island but fails to hold Turkey responsible over its actions in Cyprus’ EEZ, Strovilia and Deneia.
>> Not satisfied with absence of references to agreements of 1977 and 1979 and the Resolutions of the UN Security Council.
EDEK
>> Report confirms failure to resume talks which is due to different interpretation of each party on the basis and process.
Lillikas (Citizens’ Alliance)
>> Finds positive that Guterres’ neutral stance aims at keeping the procedure alive, negative that he refers to his Framework submitted on June 30 which leaves Anastasiades exposed.
Perdikis (Greens)
>> Disappointed that report does not do justice to the GCs and fails to mention recent incidents in Strovilia and Ayios Sozomenos but also the Pyla football match.
Theocharous (Solidarity Movement)
>> Not satisfied by Guterres’ neutral stance and lack of mention of Turkish army, the occupation, or need for solution to protect the human and political rights of GCs.
IPC decides to return property to GC refugee
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Property
OVERVIEW
The Immovable Property Commission (IPC), in a rare decision, is to return two properties in Koma Tou Yialou in the north to their GC refugee owner and to compensate her for three others albeit at a much lower rate than the estimated value of €1.1m.
The IPC’s recent decision follows a ruling in 2017 by the European Court of Human Rights deeming the agency’s procedures as protracted and ineffective concerning this case, after the refugee in question, Andriani Joannou filed a complaint that it was taking the Commission too long to issue a decision on her request for compensation. Joannou had sought compensation from the IPC in 2008 for five plots of land located in the village of Koma Tou Yialou in the north to the tune of around €2,285,000 but after no progress for several years, she filed a case with ECHR in 2014. The court ruled in 2017 that Turkey should pay the applicant €7,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damages and €6,325 plus €1,201 in VAT.
Joannou’s lawyer, Achilleas Demetriades, told the Cyprus News Agency on Wednesday that it would have been better if all of his client’s properties had been returned, adding that the compensation given for the other three properties was not the expected amount as the around €169,000 the Commission will pay is far less than what Joannou had requested. She will receive no compensation for the loss of use of her property for these two properties, and is to get around €80,000 for the loss of use of her other three properties since 1974 and up to 2018 compared to the around €801,000 she had requested.
Demetriades sent a letter to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, mentioning that the measures taken for Joannou are ineffective and asks the Committee to consider the matter at its next meeting in June.
Politis reports that this is the first time the IPC decided to return property following a hearing procedure. Ten similar decisions were taken following a friendly settlement.
It is not yet known if Joannou will accept the IPC decision, the daily said, adding that the reason compensations by the IPC are so low is that the land registry of the Republic, even though it does land appraisals on properties in the north belonging to GCs, refuses to send any of its officials to the north to testify before the IPC. Therefore, the IPC based its decisions only on the land appraisals filed by ‘authorities’ in the north. Demetriades told Politis that, through its stance, the state leaves its citizens unprotected before Turkey’s IPC. Demetriades said that the IPC is an agency of the Turkish state and that legal interpretation for appearance before the Commission is clear.
Osadchiy: No to link between UNFICYP mandate and progress in Cyprob
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi
External Security, Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Russian Ambassador to Cyprus Stanislav Osadchiy said on Wednesday his country opposes the artificial link between the UNFICYP mandate and the progress of the negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, Osadchiy said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send up to five Russian military servicemen to UNFICYP as liaison officers, military observers and staff officers, reaffirms the importance that Russia attaches to the UN mission’s responsible and significant task on the island.
“We believe that the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus effectively carries out its activities. We oppose the artificial link between the UN assistance and the progress of the negotiations,” he said.
Against the background of the unresolved Cyprus problem, he said, “we support the maintenance of the basic parameters of the peacekeepers’ mandate unchanged, including their staff potential.”
We are sure that the UN ‘blue helmets’ should play their important stabilizing role further, he said, expressing hope that the UN Secretariat will react positively to Russia’s proposal.
Cyprus Mail reported that Russia already has six people participating in the United Nations Police (UNPOL) in Cyprus since March 2016. This was the first time in UNFICYP’s 55-year history that Russia sent personnel to join the force, the paper reports.
KEY ACTORS
Osadchiy (Russia)
>> Russia is against the artificial link between UN assistance and progress of the Cyprob negotiations.
>> As long as the Cyprob remains unsolved, UNFICYP’s mandate and staff potential must not change.
>> Putin’s decision to send Russian servicemen to UNFICYP reaffirms the importance the country attaches to the force’s task on the island.
Fundraiser to rescue chapel in the north
Politis
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
Refugees from Acheritou have launched a fundraiser to collect almost €70,000 for the restoration of the historic chapel of Ayia Marina to prevent its collapse.
The chapel, located within the grounds of the church of Analipseos in Acheritou, was built around 1878 by Andronikos Karydis, who was the dragoman of the Queen of Hungary. He built the chapel after buying the Acheritou ciftlik (estate) from a Turkish agha.
The Church Committee of Analipseos church, in cooperation with the Constantia-Famagusta Bishopric and organised groups, have opened a bank account where people can donate the money. The aim is to raise €69,500.
CMP crews: Locating GC & TC missing persons is equally important to us
Alithia
CBMs, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
Alithia published an extensive article by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on the work by crews of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in excavations in Lapithos in the north and Strovolos in the south.
The article reports on the challenges faced by the CMP and its crews as regards difficulty in obtaining information on burial sites, but also the problems cause by the extreme weather conditions and how time-consuming task an excavation can be.
Archaeologists told CNA that for them, and all those who work at the excavations, it makes no difference if the persons they are searching for are GCs or TCs, soldiers or civilians. What’s important, they said, is their contribution in helping to heal the wounds of the missing persons’ families. They said they are equally disappointed when one of their efforts yields no results, Alithia reports.
In Lapithos, a 12-member CMP crew is searching for remains after information that around 20 GCs were buried in that site. Due to the fact the excavation site is near an archaeological site, CMP archaeologists are in no position of knowing if the bone fragments they locate are those of missing persons of if they are ancient ones. This will be determined by DNA tests, they said.
In Strovolos, CMP is carrying out an excavation near Apollonio hospital where it is believed that around 45 TCs missing since 1963-64 are buried. Two other excavations nearby did not yield any results.
At the moment, the CMP is carrying out excavations also in Gerani, Templos, and in Epiho in Mesaoria.
Crew members made a plea through CNA for information that could help locate missing persons citing that time is running out.
Interior ministry defends allotment of TC land to son of DISY official
Haravgi
Property
OVERVIEW
The interior ministry on Wednesday admitted to leasing a TC property in Larnaca to the family of DISY top brass member, the daily said, and that the Larnaca Municipality that had also requested the same plot was turned down.
Following Haravgi’s main front-page article on Wednesday that the son of the head of DISY Larnaca branch had received favourable treatment by being given a TC property which is prime real estate, the interior ministry issued a statement.
The interior ministry, Haravgi said, cited technocratic procedures to justify the lease but did not address the major political and ethical issue raised since the ministry itself had rejected leasing the plot to another refugee.
The excuse given is that the application in question was rejected because the applicant’s plans for the plot were not in line with the Larnaca local plan. This, the daily said, is shot down by the minutes of meetings where the issue was discussed which prove that the applicant was asked to submit his application through a derogation procedure. Another applicant was also turned down with another excuse, the paper said.
The interior ministry said that Michalis Manoli, who was given the plot, was leased only 1,800 square meters of the total 22,204 sq.m. of the block because the development he had suggested, a gym, is compatible with the local plan, as well as because he is an athlete of international caliber, Haravgi reported.
The paper reported that the Audit Office might carry out a probe into the matter.