Republic of northern Cyprus

[anotherlife]

this Turkish enclave has terrorized Cypriots for decades and stole half the land of their country. When turkey was the most important NATO member against the Soviet Union, this injustice was logical. But what is the situation in the 21st century? Is there a merit to allow turkey to maintain such an illegal state formation at the northern half of Cyprus?

 

[irosie91]

Good luck in trying to get the turks out of Cyprus. Erdogan is getting more nuts day by day----
he is not going to give up ANYTHING ---he is on the TAKE. I predict problems for the whole area
with a base on Cyprus----galvanized from Turkey

 

[anotherlife]

Good luck in trying to get the turks out of Cyprus. Erdogan is getting more nuts day by day----
he is not going to give up ANYTHING ---he is on the TAKE. I predict problems for the whole area
with a base on Cyprus----galvanized from Turkey

I think a war is overdue in northern Cyprus. Would be an interesting proxy war between the USA and Russia. In a way it is a little like Kosovo, where the Russians have lost and the USA won.

 

[alexyflemming]

TURKEY'S INTERVENTION ON CYPRUS IN 1974 IS LEGAL:

1. Applications of sanctions
Till now, there is NO sanction applied on Turkey due to 1974 Cyprus war.

If a country invades another one, UN imposes sanctions on that country. Iraq invaded Kuwait, and UN imposed sanctions on Iraq. Turkey did not invade Cyprus, hence UN did not impose any sanction on Turkey.

2. The appearance of phrase "invasion" in UN Security Council resolutions
There is no UN Security Council resolution that calls the Turkey’s 1974 action as "invasion".

3. The first hand decisions of The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
PACE(29.07.1974, Resolution 573): "The Turkish military INTERVENTION was the exercise of a RIGHT EMANATING FROM AN INTERNATIONAL TREATY and the fulfilment of a LEGAL and MORAL obligation."

4. Greece’s court decisions
Athens Court of Appeals (21.03.1979; Case No: 2658/79): “The Turkish military INTERVENTION in Cyprus, which was carried out in accordance with the Zurich and London Accords, was LEGAL. Turkey, as one of the Guarantor Powers, had the right to fulfill her obligations. The real culprits ... are the Greek officers who engineered and staged a coup and prepared the conditions for this INTERVENTION."

Note: Just after 5 years later than 1974, in 1979, Greece’s Highest Court decided Turkish military intervention is legal without making any difference between 1st and 2nd military operation.

5. Makarios (Then-President of Cyprus) speech during the period covering both the coup and the intervention
Makarios (the UN Security Council Speech, 19 July 1974): "CYPRUS WAS INVADED BY GREECE".
Sound record of the speech: http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/history/republic/makarios1.wav

6. Treaty of Guarantee of 1960
Turkey acted on Cyprus via Article IV(2) Treaty of Guarantee ("In the event of a breach of the provisions of the present treaty, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom undertake to consult together with respect to the representations or measures necessary to ensure observance of those provisions. IN SO FAR AS COMMON OR CONCERTED ACTION MAY NOT PROVE POSSIBLE, EACH of the three GUARANTEEING POWERs reserves THE RIGHT TO TAKE ACTION with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs created by the present Treaty."), hence in compatible with Art. 2(4) UN Charter.

 

[alexyflemming]

NORTHERN CYPRUS IS LEGAL:
1. LEGALITY AND RECOGNITION ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS
(Neither of them is a "necessary" or a "sufficient" condition for the other one)

Recognition is completely a political notion/act (as stated by International Court of Justice, Kosovo 2010 decision) and has nothing to do with legality. 1/193 country recognizes Northern Cyprus; but even if 0/193 countries recognize NC, this has nothing to do with legality of NC.

The President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Hisashi OWADA (2010): "International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence."
Kosovo independence move not illegal, says UN court - BBC News

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) (2010): "while the declaration may not have been illegal, the issue of RECOGNITION was a POLITICAL one". (in OSHISANYA 2016, An Almanac of Contemporary and Comperative Judicial Restatement, p.64)
An Almanac of Contemporary and Comparative Judicial Restatements (ACCJR Supp. ii Public Law)

Recognition is a political, not a legal matter.

That is to say, "being recognized/not recognized does not affect legality/illegality of a country". Recognition is a political action.

2. NORTHERN CYPRUS BEING A COUNTRY IS NOT DISPUTED
The definition of "country" is bigger than whether being a UN member or not. There are countries that are not member of UN. See, "country" definition in Wikipedia:
Country - Wikipedia

A country is a region identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated peoples with distinct political characteristics.

That’s why, even the sources from United Nations (UN) cite Northern Cyprus as a different country: World Happiness Report 2015 of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) ranked Northern Cyprus 66th among 158 countries, directly above the Republic of Cyprus, which was ranked 67th. UN SDSN World Happiness Report 2015 p.27: 2012-2014 country rankings.
http://worldhappiness.report/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/04/WHR15.pdf

United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) World Happiness Report 2016. See "Figure 2.2: Ranking of Happiness 2013-2015 (Part 2)" North Cyprus: 62th among 157 countries (1:best, 157:worst) (South, Greek) Cyprus: 69th among 157 countries.
http://5c28efcb768db11c7204-4ffd2ff276d22135df4d1a53ae141422.r82.cf5.rackcdn.com/HR-V1_web.pdf

3. THERE IS "NO PROHIBITION" ON DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW
The President of the Int’l Court of Justice (ICJ) Hisashi OWADA, 2010: "International law contains "NO PROHIBITION" on declarations of independence."

4. United Nations Peace Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) operates based on the laws of Northern Cyprus in north of Cyprus island
Without a status-of-forces agreement (or similar arrangements) between the United Nations and the Government of the TRNC UNFICYP operates solely within the framework of the laws, rules and regulations of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which may be altered by the TRNC authorities unilaterally and without prior notice.
(Stefan Talmon, "Impediments to Peacekeeping: The Case of Cyprus", p.58-59., in "International Peacekeeping: The Yearbook of International Peace Operations", Vol.8, 2002)
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sann2029/International Peacekeeping 8 (2002), 33-63.pdf

SINCE NORTHERN CYPRUS IS LEGAL, ALL ITS COURTS AND LAWS ARE ACCEPTED IN THE WORLD: SEE 5 & 6 BELOW.

5. ALL LAWS OF NORTHERN CYPRUS ARE ACCEPTED IN EUROPE (EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS; ECtHR)
5.1 In north of Cyprus island, the laws of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are valid:
ECtHR’s 02.07.2013 Decision: "...notwithstanding the lack of international recognition of the regime in the northern area, a de facto recognition of its acts may be rendered necessary for practical purposes. Thus, THE ADOPTION BY THE AUTHORITIES OF THE "TRNC" OF CIVIL, ADMINISTRATIVE OR CRIMINAL LAW MEASURES, AND THEIR APPLICATION OR ENFORCEMENT WITHIN THAT TERRITORY, may be regarded as HAVING A LEGAL basis in domestic law for the purposes of the Convention".
HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights

Note: In the related ECtHR’s decision above, the case application of the Greek Cypriot was IMMEDIATELY REJECTED; i.e., his application was found INADMISSABLE. That is to say, he was expelled by ECtHR just at the beginning; therefore, his case was not handled (no sessions were held) by ECtHR at all.

5.2 In north of Cyprus island, the ONLY country whose laws are valid is NORTHERN CYPRUS:
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Article 35/1 Admissibility criteria: "The Court may ONLY deal with the matter after ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES have been exhausted, according to the generally recognised rules of international law."
http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Admissibility_guide_ENG.pdf

In order to apply to ECtHR for an issue related in Poland, Poland's ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES MUST be exhausted. Similarly:
In order to apply to ECtHR for an issue related in north of Cyprus island, Northern Cyprus' ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES MUST be exhausted.

If the legal domestic system of Republic of Cyprus had any validity in north Cyprus, then before taking the case to ECtHR, RoC's ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES MUST have been exhausted AS WELL besides those of Northern Cyprus. Since, according to ECtHR, legal system of Republic of Cyprus has NO validity in north Cyprus, ECtHR accepts cases from north Cyprus AS SOON AS Northern Cyprus' ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES are exhausted.

5.3 ALL the people of Rep. of Cyprus (even the President of RoC) MUST apply to the LEGAL SYSTEM of Northern Cyprus about an issue related with north Cyprus in order to take their cases to the ECtHR:
ECtHR 04.01.2011 decision: "the procedure before the Immovable Property Commission ("IPC"), and further appeal to the "TRNC" High Administrative Court, provided for in Law 67/2005, were to be regarded as "domestic remedies" of the respondent State and that NO GROUND OF EXEMPTION has been established in that regard".
In the last part: "Court unanimously Declares the APPLICATION INADMISSIBLE" means "EXHAUST ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES OF TRNC (Northern Cyprus) first, before coming to ECtHR".
http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-103100

5.4 The courts of Northern Cyprus are independent and impartial:
ECtHR’s 02.09.2015 Decision: "..the COURT SYSTEM in the "TRNC", including both civil and criminal courts, reflected the judicial and common-law tradition of Cyprus in its functioning and procedures, and that the "TRNC" COURTS were thus to be considered as "ESTABLISHED BY LAW" with reference to the "constitutional and legal basis" on which they operated...the Court has already found that the COURT SYSTEM set up in the "TRNC" was to be considered to have been "established by law" with reference to the "constitutional and legal basis" on which it operated, and it has NOT ACCEPTED THE ALLEGATION that the "TRNC" COURTS as a whole LACKED INDEPENDENCE and/or IMPARTIALITY...when an act of the "TRNC" authorities was in compliance with LAWS IN FORCE WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF NORTHERN CYPRUS, those acts should in principle be regarded as having a legal basis in domestic law for the purposes of the Convention.."
http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-155000

Note: Here, what ECtHR means by "laws in force within the territory of northern Cyprus" is the laws that TRNC published and put into implementation (See: ECtHR’s 02.07.2013 decision above).

6. UNITED STATES’ FEDERAL COURT: "TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS IS A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY"
USA Federal Court (09.10.2014): "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a democratic country"
"Although the United States does not recognize it as a state, the TRNC purportedly operates as a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC with a president, prime minister, legislature and judiciary...TRNC is NOT VULNERABLE to a lawsuit in Washington"

The news of the Court decision (13.10.2014)
http://www.courthousenews.com/property-spat-over-turk-controlled-cyprus-fails/
Page of the Court case (The Defendant: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus)
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2009cv01967/139002
Decision of the Court
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federa...ict-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2009cv01967/139002/53

7. UNITED KINGDOM'S HIGH COURT: "THERE IS NOTHING IN UK'S LAW TO REFRAIN UK FROM RECOGNIZING NORTHERN CYPRUS"
UK's High Court (03.02.2017): "THERE WAS NO DUTY IN UK LAW UPON THE GOVERNMENT TO REFRAIN FROM RECOGNISING NORTHERN CYPRUS. The United Nations itself works with Northern Cyprus law enforcement agencies and facilitates cooperation between the two parts of the island."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...british-justice-can-no-longer-use-cyprus-safe

High Court judges dismissed a challenge ... that co-operation between UK police and law agencies in northern Cyprus was illegal. (http://ambamarblearch-media.com/sites/default/files/dpp_files/TT.pdf, page 6).
http://ambamarblearch-media.com/sites/default/files/dpp_files/TT.pdf

 

[alexyflemming]

GREEKS MUST RETURN TO EUROPE FROM WHERE THEY CAME TO ASIAN CYPRUS ISLAND!
The civilization in Cyprus started in BC 9000.
The first Helen (Greek) came to Cyprus in BC 325.
THERE WAS NOT ANY SINGLE HELEN IN THE ISLAND THROUGHOUT 9000 YEARS.
The Helens (Greeks) came to Asian Cyprus from Europe with BARBARISM by killing ALL the indigenous people.
HELENS ARE THE LONGEST GUEST OF THE ISLAND!
HENCE, HELENS MUST LEAVE CYPRUS ISLAND!

EUROPEAN UK handed over ASIAN HONG KONG to its Asian real owners.
EUROPEAN Portugal handed over ASIAN MACAU to its Asian real owners.
Both UK and Portugal did not hold SOUTH of HONG KONG or MACAU.
EUROPEAN Greeks MUST ALSO HAND OVER ASIAN (south) CYPRUS to its Asian real owners.

 

[anotherlife]

So, does this legalize, that the Turkish Republic of northern Cyprus annexes and occupies Greek villages and the suburbs of Greek Nicosia?