President’s Office: GC administration’s claims on Maraş are unreal
Date Added: 01 February 2022

TRNC President’s Office stressed on Monday that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will continue with the Maraş opening within the framework of European Court of Human Rights decisions and in respect to property rights.

In a written statement, the President’s Office pointed out that the Greek Cypriot leadership by adding to its unreal claims on the Maraş opening and labelling the Immovable Property Commission as a ‘legal trap’ tried to keep the property owners in Maraş away from the commission.

The presidency said that the Immovable Property Commission is not a “legal trap”; on the contrary, it is an effective mechanism that ensures access to property rights of all beneficiaries, including former residents, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The statement reminded that the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, prior to the February 2023 Presidential elections in South Cyprus had with his statements targeted other candidates encouraging Greek Cypriots to apply to the Immovable Property Commission either for compensation or return and had warned that this opening for property owners in the closed city of Maraş was a trap.

“Anastasiades had also claimed that those who made calls for Greek Cypriots to apply to the IPC was wrong” said Tatar.

The statement also added that the Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades with the aim of supporting his claims had referred to the latest decision taken by the Immovable Property Commission which referred to the Evkaf Administration as the “related party” on an application regarding a property in Maraş, as a new and negative development.

In its statement, the President’s Office reminded that a decision taken by the Immovable Property Commission within the framework of its judicial opinion on an application regarding an immovable property in Maraş which accepted the Evkaf Administration as a “related party” is based on the principles of justice.

“Justice requires that all parties involved be duly heard. Trying to prevent this means trying to prevent the manifestation of justice. A similar decision of the Immovable Property Commission, which accepted the Evkaf Administration as a “concerned party”, was previously audited and approved by the three-judge Supreme Administrative Court” read the statement.