CoE Deplores Turkish Refusal to Cooperate v. Human Rights Violations ECHR found in Occupied Cyprus

 

*Stuttgart(Germany: on the Road from EU's Salzburg Summit [Austria] back to Strasbourg [France]*)/Angelo Marcopolo/- The PanEuropean, 47 Member States-strong (including Russia, etc), Organisation for Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law's (CoE) Highest Political body, that of its Committee of Ministers, officially declared Today, that it "Deplores" Turkey's Refusal to "Cooperate" in pending issues of Massive and Continuing Violations of Human Rights of Refugees and/or "Missing" Persons, (for which Ankara has been repeatedly Condemned by ECHR) in the Occupied Territories of Cyprus, still controlled by Ankara's Military since the 1974 Bloody Invasion by its Foreign Troops.

+Moreover, it appears Proven, now on 2018, that Turkey hasn't set up Any efficient means at all in order to Prevent "UnLawful Sales or Exploitation" of Greek Cypriot Refugees/IDPs' usurpated "Homes and Properties" located in the Occupied Territories controlled by Ankara's Army since the 1974 Military Invasion (See infra), that it may, therefore, have been Abusing for 54 Years, and still persist to do so, with the "Complicity" of those who Cover up such Crimes, (See Facts Infra)...

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>>> It's the 1st Time in the soon 70 Years-old History of the CoE, (whose 1949-2019 Anniversary is due to be celebrated Next Year), that a State dares so Bluntly Defy the PanEuropean landmark Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights, which is Widely considered as the Best among all those currently existing in various Continents accross the World, particularly because of a Pioneer Case-Law (thanks also to its key Judgements on Cyprus' Refugees/Displaced persons and "Missing" People) as well as its Legaly-Binding character.

=> Indeed, CoE's Statute clearly makes it an Obligation for all its Member States to abide by the Judgements of the (Pan)European Court of Human Rights.

Turkey is the Only Non-European Member State of the CoE, since an Exceptional Situation, during the "Cold War" and even the Korea War, when Greece had faced a Civil War, and USA's Western Allies had been Anxious to Stop an eventual Extension of the "Socialist" Block (which included then all Northern Neighbours of Greece : Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, etc) in South-Eastern Europe until Deep into the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, facing the Middle East and Suez Channel.

In order to do so, CoE even suddenly Abandoned, then, its Initial Plans to adopt a European Flag including not just a Circle of 12 Golden Stars at a Blue Background, but also, at its Center, a Globe with a Christian Cross, (Identical to Famous Coudenhoven-Kallergis' Historic Symbol for "PanEuropa"), and Replaced it with Only that Circle but Empty inside, (See, f.ex. : ..., etc).

However, during the 1960ies, CoE's then Director for Human Rights and Democracy had reportedly Urged to Oust Turkey, as InCompatible with such European Values, when the Elected Turkish Prime Minister Menderes was Brutally Lynched by a Mob and His Government replaced by a Military regime's cronies. But his voice wasn't heard then by the majority of politicians, and, paradoxically, Ankara remained still a Member, (Contrary to what happened, just a few time later, with the Colonels' regime even in a European Country : Greece, which was, notoriously, Obliged to briefly Leave the CoE somewhere during that Exceptional Period of 1996-2004).

+ Nowadays, the Main Problem is even Greater for Turkey, Because CoE's Membership is, in real practice, a sine-qua-non, Necessary Condition for any 3rd Country wishing to become a fully-fledged Candidate for EU Accession, (with all the Financial and Legal various Advantages that such an official Status gives). Indeed, EU's famous "Copenhagen Criteria", are practically the Same with what became CoE's main Focus of Action, (i.e. Human Rights, Democracy, Rule of Law, etc). And Turkey's Controversial and UnPopular EU Candidate Status wasn't fully given and didn't lead to the Beginning of Accession Negotiations with the EU, but Only After a (very much Contested) CoE's Report claimed on 2004 that Ankara's Government would have met, then, at least a Minimum Threshhold of those CoE's Standards.  

So that Cyprus' President, Nicos Anastassiades', bilateral Meetings during EU's Heads of State/Government's Summit in Salzburg, (Austria), the 19th and particularly the 20th of September 2018, (i.e. Yesterday, when it had reportedly become Obvious in Strasbourg that Turkey was Obstinated into Refusing to Cooperate at all with the CoE in the Implementation of ECHR's Judgementw which have Condemned Ankara's Government for Massive Violations of Human Rights in the Occupîed Part of Cyprus, (Comp. Supra + Infra), should, logically, have offered a Timely Opportunity to Include, also, Possibly, most or all of that Negative Behavior by Turkey.

Among those Anastasiades' Interlocutors in Salzburg, were apparently Included, f.ex., the New EU's Chairman-in-office, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, EU Commission's President Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Council's President, Donald Tusk, and even the current CoE's President-in-office Andreij Plenkovic, Croatia's Prime Minister, as well as the French President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to Chair the CoE on 2019, (etc).      

Meanwhile, in Strasbourg, at CoE's HeadQuarters, during this Autumn 2018's Session of the PanEuropean Organisation's Highest Body, its Committee of Ministers, entitled to Supervise the Execution of ECHR's Judgements by Member States, was Examining the current Situation concerning many Greek Cypriot Refugees/Displaced persons, (a Total of more than 190.000 People, i.e. about 2O% of the legal Population of the Island), as far as it regards their Rights to Access their Family Homes and/or other Private Properties and Ancestral Land located in  the Territories of Cyprus still under Foreign Military Occupation by Ankara's Troops since the 1974 bloody Turkish Invasion, (that they had been Obliged to Flee), as well as the situation of Prolonged but Fruitless Queries on What really Happened to around 1.950 "Missing" People, and Find and Punish those Responsible for their EnForced Disappearances, according to a well-established ECHR's case-law.

Turkey has just put Nowadays into real practice, for the 1st Time, its earlier Threat, (reportedly made already as early as since July 2017), to Stop Participating in CoE's Committee of Ministers' supervision of the Implementation of ECHR's Judgements by the Condemned States, particularly as far as it concerns the Deadly Turkish Military Invasion and still persisting Occupation of the Northern Territories of Cyprus.

The ECHR has repeatedly Judged, (after also a landmark Public Hearing held in Strasbourg as early as, already since 1994 : See "Eurofora" co-Founder's NewsReport, Published then, inter alia, also at CNAgency, PIO, etc, followed by various Convergent Decisions of 1996, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, etc), that the Turkish Government, whose Military Troops still Control that Occupied Area of Cyprus, is Responsible for Many Continuing Violations of Greek Cypriot Refugees' Human Rights to Access their Family Homes, other Private Properties and Ancestral Land, in addition to those "Missing" Persons' Rights to Life and Liberty, as well as of the Victims' Families' Right to Know what happened to their beloved ones, provoking situations tantamount to Inhuman and Degrading Treatments, etc.

Those ECHR's Judgements on Cyprus' cases are among the First and Most Important in the World, concerning the Protection of the Human Rights of Refugees/Displaced People, as well as of "Missing" Persons, etc., and have been repeatedly Published, Analysed, cited, Quoted and Used all over across the Planet, (including by various UNO's Reports, Official Booklets, etc: F.ex., the Famous "Pinheiro Principles", on Refugees/DPIs' Rights to Return and for Restoration of their goods, etc), as Historic and World-wide Landmark Examples of what must be done in such Tragic Cases in order to Defend an elementary Human Dignity.

>>> So that, by Threatening to seriously Undermine and/or Belittle them, if not Brutaly and Massively Dismiss them, under any Hollow Pretext or even withOut really one, would be no only a Crime committed against the Victims who Suffered from manifold Violations of their basic Human Rights, but also, practically tantamount into Depriving Europe from some among its most Important core Values, and the whole World from a Key Part of its Sources of Hope for Truth and Justice.

F.ex., among various others, It's not for nothing that ECHR's Great Chamber clearly Warned, on 2014, against anyone might, eventually make such Attempts to "Illegaly Sell or Exploit" the Family Homes and/or other Private Properties of Greek Cypriot Refugees/Displaced Persons in the Turkish-Occupied Territories of Cyprus, and/or those who might attempt to Cover up such persistent Wrong-doing, i.e., practically behaving as "Accomplices", (according to ECHR's Judgement's own original  Wording)...

=> Therefore, in the Resolutions adopted Yesterday and published Today by CoE's Highest Body, its Committee of Ministers officially "Called on Turkey to Cooperate" on the collective supervision of ECHR's Judgements' execution, and "Deeply Regretted the Decision of Turkey Not to Participate in the Discussion" held inside the PanEuropean Organization for Human Rights.

+ Moreover, CoE's Highest body, "Also Regretted" that  "the Turkish Authorities" have "Not Replied" yet to a Recent Question, raised by the CoE since "December 2017", "as regards the Issue of Property Rights of Displaced Persons" in Cyprus, and concerning the "Existing" ways "to Address the Issue of possible UNLAWFUL SALE AND EXPLOITATION" of Greek Cypriot Refugees/IDPs Properties located in the Occupied Territories of Cyprus :

- Turkey, in fact, had initially Claimed that such Ways to Address that Problem would already Exist there, But, when CoE asked Ankara "to present ...INFORMATION on their PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION", in order "to ASSESS the EFFECTIVENESS" of such Tools, Suddenly, the Turkish Government, (instead of providing any concrete Statistics, etc, on the Contrary), Started to ...Threaten to Stop Cooperating, (from June 2018), and, finally, Now, it really Stopped !

=> In other words, as the Facts cited by the CoE Reveal, Turkey's Behavior shows that Ankara had done practically NOTHING serious TO AVOID ILLEGAL "SALES" AND "EXPLOITATION" of Greek Cypriot Refuges/IDPs' "HOMES and PROPERTIES" in the Territories of Cyprus still Occupied by the Turkish Army...

Therefore, the Risk of "COMPLICITY in any UnLawful Sale and Exploitation of Greek Cypriot Homes and Property" in the Occupied Territories of Cyprus, existed, still Today, for "Any possible Permission, Participation, (or)Acquiescence", by anyone in such acts, as the ECHR had already Warned since 2014...

Cyprus' Government said it was "Gravely Concerned about Turkey’s continued ...Attempts to create an irreversible de facto situation permanently Obstructing the Return of Greek Cypriots to their properties in the Occupied Areas of Cyprus", (i.e. perpetuating the Division of the Island, Contrary to a Peaceful ReUnification via a Solution of Cyprus' Political Issue).

Therefore, it asked CoE to Confirm that the Transfert or Use of Greek Cypriots' Properties, withOut Consent of Lawful Owner, is a Violation of Property Rights, and, therefore, should be Prevented, and Not Promoted.

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+ But it's even on Tragic Cases of "Missing" People in Cyprus, that Turkey now Started to Refuse to "Participate" in CoE's meetings on ECHR Judgements' Implementation, obliging Today the CoE's Ministers to officialy "Deply Regret" that, and to "Call on Turkey to Cooperate with the(ir) Committee", also in the Famous "Varnava and Others" cases.

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(*NDLR : A Series of UnPrecedented Blockades in the German Train from Salzburg's EU Summit in Austria back to our Base in Strasbourg, surprizingly Hindered a Timely Return back Home, obliging to Complete our Reporting -which had Started earlier this Week inside the CoE in Strasbourg- Later than initialy expected and by using also various Phone Calls, EMails, etc).

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