European court orders Turkey to pay Cyprus over invasion

Ruling by Europe's top human rights court for 90 million euros in damages is its largest judgment ever.

Europe's top human rights court in its largest ever judgment ordered Turkey on Monday to pay 90 million euros ($123 million) to Cyprus for its 1974 invasion and the island's subsequent division.

The decision from the European Court of Human Rights said the passage of time did not erase Turkey's responsibility in the case, ruling that Turkey must pay 30 million euros in damages to relatives of those missing in the operations and 60 million euros for "the enclaved Greek-Cypriot residents of the Karpas peninsula."

Hundreds of Greek Cypriots still live in the Karpas peninsula in the northernmost tip of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot part of the island.

In this file photo dated July 20 1974, Turkish troops pull ashore a Greek Cypriot torpedo boat damaged during fighting in Kyrenia on the day Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of Cyprus. Photo by AP

Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state that was proclaimed in the north of the island.

The judgment comes as the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities are making a new effort to reunite the island.

Speaking ahead of the ruling on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned that a judgment against Turkey would come at a delicate time and said that he viewed it as "neither binding nor of any value."

"Not only is it legally problematic, its timing is wrong," Davutoglu said.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the decision would not detract from Turkey's "determination" to reach a settlement.

Cyprus' government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides hailed the court's decision and called on Turkey to comply immediately.

"Despite the fact that the persecution and hardship that they have endured cannot be measured in money, the Cyprus government welcomes the fact that the court again condemns in this way Turkey's policy of violating the human rights of the enclaved," he said.

The court said it would be up to the government of Cyprus to determine how to award the damages. Turkey has not always complied with the court's rulings.

In a 1998 ruling, the Strasbourg court ordered Turkey to pay Titina Loizidou compensation for depriving her of property in the seaside city of Kyrenia. It was the first case in which a Greek Cypriot successfully sued Turkey over the invasion and earned the right to compensation.

Turkey paid the money in 2003, but has yet to comply with an earlier European Court decision ordering Ankara to allow Loizidou to reclaim her property.

Analysts noted that the current case was notable not only because of its size, but also because it took Turkey to task for the invasion and awarded the money to Cyprus on behalf of individuals, a sensitive point that could affect current reunification talks.

"The big question is how the decision will affect the negotiations that are the most promising ever," said Cengiz Aktar, an analyst on Turkey-EU affairs at the Istanbul Policy Center. "It could put the talks into difficulty."

Achilleas Demetriades, a prominent human rights lawyer in Cyprus, who has won several cases in the European Court involving Turkey, said that the judgment also pertains to Turkey's failure to carry out an effective investigation of the whereabouts of Greek Cypriots who disappeared during and after the invasion of the island, and to provide that information to relatives of the missing.

Nicos Sergides, president of the Greek Cypriot organization of relatives of missing persons, said the ruling could offer fresh hope for relatives to find out what happened to their loved ones.

By The Associated Press / haaretz.com