The Cyprus problem: Why British property owners should give up their villas

If you have managed to tear yourself away from MPs expenses in the last few weeks, you may have read about British couple David and Linda Orams. In 2004, a Cypriot refugee expelled from northern Cyprus decades ago tried to come back only to find the Orams had built their dream villa over his family home. Last month, the European Court of Justice gave them an ultimatum: return the land or risk losing their home in the UK instead.

Over the last five years they have spent almost £1m fighting to keep a villa that cost £170,000 to build and have even enlisted the support of Cherie Blair on the way. The press have accused the Cypriot government of exploiting an innocent couple for political gain and Sarah Ludford, MEP for London has condemned the ruling for jeopardising the entire peace process. But are they right?

First, a little background: Cyprus as a legal entity is a single country known as the Republic of Cyprus and is a member of the EU and the UN. In reality, though the government only has sovereignty over the southern half of the island. Northern Cyprus is run by a de-facto administration that declared its independence after Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, forcing an estimated 200,000 Greek Cypriots to flee from their homes. However, to this day, it is recognised only by Turkey and the sale of properties seized from Greek Cypriots is considered illegal under international law.

As a result, when Meletis Apostolides, a Greek Cypriot refugee, discovered that his family home had been sold off to the Orams, he sued. After hearing his case, the Supreme Court in the Republic of Cyprus ordered the couple to demolish their villa, return the land and pay compensation. However, as the ruling could not be enforced in the north, he invoked an EU law that allows a judgement made in one member state to be enforced in any other. So, Apostolides sued the Orams in the UK and his case was eventually referred to the ECJ, culminating in last month’s ruling.

So, why the condemnation? The main argument is that the division of Cyprus is a political problem in need of a political solution, one that the Greek Cypriots squandered by rejecting the 2004 UN re-unification plan and by refusing to sign up to the North Cyprus Property Commission. To now seek retribution through the courts is disingenuous at best.

The problem with this argument is that it rests on one crucial misconception: that Cyprus is a divided island whose two constituent parts can’t resolve their differences. This is not the case. As the UN and EU have consistently noted, Cyprus is a single country, half of which has been under occupation since the Turkish invasion in 1974. While it is true that the invasion was prompted by a Greek inspired coup d’etat, that coup failed after just seven days. Yet 35 years on, the Turkish occupation remains.

Skipping forward to 2004 and the UN ‘reunification’ plan; two of its core tenets were that Turkey would maintain an indefinite military presence in Cyprus and that most Greek Cypriot properties would not be handed back. So, unsurprisingly the plan was supported by the Turkish Cypriot community and rejected by the Greek Cypriots, to whom the plan signified the mere formalisation of their dispossession.

As for the North Cyprus Property Commission, here is what an advice website for people looking at property in northern Cyprus said about it: “Under the current system, any compensation will be limited and capped, esdeger or ‘exchange’ land [land seized after the invasion] is immune from restitution (i.e., it cannot be given back)... and what’s more, the TRNC Immovable Property Commission has no Greek Cypriot control or membership... This means it is now safer than ever to buy property in North Cyprus.” So, a great deal for a potential buyer, like the Orams, but not so much for the original owners of the land it was meant to help.

Those people need a way to exercise their rights and if this is not a job for a court of law, then I don’t know what is. Furthermore, the same Cypriot court that ordered the Orams to demolish their villa has also forced Greek Cypriots to allow their Turkish counter-parts to reclaim their old homes in the South.

The harsh reality of the situation is that neither side has any incentive to embrace a political solution right now. Anyone who expects this to change spontaneously will end up waiting for a very long time while the ordinary citizens caught up in the middle do all the suffering. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Israelis and the Palestinians.