The TRNC’s President’s Office has issued a statement in response to the European Court of Human Right’s judgement ordering Turkey to pay compensation for the 1974 Peace Operation, ‘Kibris Postasi’ reports.
The statement described the ECHR ruling as lacking any legal basis, of contradicting the principles of justice and of being politically motivated. “Unfortunately with this judgement, the ECHR has flouted the principle of justice, choosing to ignore those really responsibly for the tragedy in Cyprus and punishing the innocent,” the statement read.
Pointing out that between the years of 1963 and 1974, Turkish Cypriots, had been subjected to massacres and mass murders, forced through arms to abandon over 103 villages and to live inhumanly, trapped in enclaves constituting only 3% of the island’s territory, the statement reminded everyone that the 1974 Turkish Peace Operation had been carried out in response to the Greek mainland-Greek Cypriot coup and that Turkey’s timely intervention stemmed from the 1960 Guarantor Agreements.
“The court, which has ignored these realities, has fallen in contradiction with all factuality, sense of fairness and principles of justice,” it said.
The statement also drew attention to the timing of the judgement, pointing out that such a decision which coincided with the timing of negotiations on substantive issues was significant.
“Such an unfair decision which serves to give one of the two parties a political and psychological advantage over the other one is truly thought-provoking,” the statement stressed. The President’s statement said that if anyone should be awarded compensation, it should be the Turkish Cypriots who have been subjected to all kinds of human rights violations, including international embargoes and isolations.
The statement also accused the Greek Cypriot Administration of exploiting the European legal system for its political purposes. “The ECHR has once again ignored the suffering of the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey on the other hand is being punished for saving the Turkish Cypriot people from atrocities and being massacred. This is the ECHR’s justice and history will judge this decision,” the statement concluded.
