Britons and other Europeans should stop their colonialist behaviour
Halloumi | 07.05.2003 13:48
Unless Cyprus reaches a political settlement soon, we might reach the stage where northern Cyprus will resemble countries like Zimbabwe, South Africa and Australia: i.e. where the majority of land, acquired illegally, will be in the hands of a new-breed of European colonists.
The following was published today in the Cyprus Mail under the Greek Press Review section.
SIMERINI: "They are selling our properties"
The selling of Greek Cypriot properties to foreigners living in the occupied areas is on the rise, according
to the paper. Turkish settlers who took over properties belonging to Greek Cypriots after the invasion are now illegally selling them on to Europeans, mainly Britons and Germans. The paper says the partial easing of restrictions on movement has worried Turks living in such properties, leading them to try and sell them on for immediate financial gain before a settlement is reached.
SIMERINI: "They are selling our properties"
The selling of Greek Cypriot properties to foreigners living in the occupied areas is on the rise, according
to the paper. Turkish settlers who took over properties belonging to Greek Cypriots after the invasion are now illegally selling them on to Europeans, mainly Britons and Germans. The paper says the partial easing of restrictions on movement has worried Turks living in such properties, leading them to try and sell them on for immediate financial gain before a settlement is reached.
Halloumi
Comments
Hide the following 4 comments
nationalist nonsense...
07.05.2003 14:22
no states
The problem is about land-ownership
07.05.2003 15:41
It states that Europeans, including Brits and Germans, are ILLEGALLY buying land and property in northern Cyprus.
Since 1974 the northern part of Cyprus has been under illegal occupation by Turkish troops. The international community, including the UK, does not recognize the puppet government installed in this part of Cyprus. The only country in the world that recognizes it is Turkey.
Which means that the Europeans who go there to buy land do so in the knowledge that what they are doing is illegal. Since they are fully aware of the situation, it indicates that when the political situation in Cyprus is resolved these people do not intend to leave peacefully and return the land and properties to their rightful owners. The greek-cypriots will have to take them to court and who knows how long it will take for these issues to become resolved.
For anyone with a basic knowledge of history, this is a clear strategy that has been used repeatedly by European colonialists.
For greek-cypriots this is not a nationalistic issue fuelled by some sort of hatred for foreigners. It is an issue of land-ownership.
Halloumi
Halloumi
07.05.2003 17:13
Anyone buying property in the occupied area should be left in no doubt that they do not necessarily have legal title to that property, and will be subjected to some form of arbitration procedure after reunification, with the possible loss of their investment.
A formalised procedure would speed things up for the local population wishing to regain their property, as well as putting the potential buyers on notice.
Brian
Unfortunately ........
07.05.2003 19:34
First of all, nobody knows how long it will take for the reunification of Cyprus. It may take years. The longer it takes to reach a solution, the more Europeans will be going over to buy property illegally and the harder it will be to get rid of them.
People don't get up and leave their properties that easily, even if they acquire them in an illegal or unjust way. Just look at Zimbabwe. Many white farmers refuse to leave their farms even under the threat of violence and death. Imagine how difficult and time-consuming it will be in Cyprus where the procedure will be carried out through the courts under a democratic government.
In fact some people are so confident about their position that even though they are there illegally, they write letters complaining that the greek-cypriot government does not allow them to visit the southern part of Cyprus. If they were afraid of getting caught they would be keeping a low profile, not making themselves conspicuous.
Even though this is a clear-cut case of illegality, not a single EU government has announced that it will take the responsibility to investigate this matter and prosecute its citizens.
Halloumi