A number of TRNC government vehicles have been seized in lieu of unpaid compensation by the Immovable Property Commission (IPC).
A Greek Cypriot formerly living in the north registered the IPC’s decision to pay compensation with the court and which led to a number of Ministry vehicles being confiscated.
Turkish daily ‘Havadis’ reports that the cars were taken to a field near the Ledra Palace. A process was then launched to confiscate all vehicles numbers between 004 and 014, with more vehicles to be seized and auctioned off if compensation was not paid.
The IPC had decided to pay the sum of two million and 150 thousand sterling pounds as compensation to the above-mentioned Greek Cypriot for a property of 60 donums [A land measure of about 1,000 square meters] by the sea in Karsayaka. Three thirds of this property is located in a military zone and the rest is used by a private citizen. The Greek Cypriot had reportedly applied to the Commission trying to transfer his property.
Murat Metin Hakki, the lawyer representing the Greek Cypriot, told ‘Havadis’ that the IPC had given priority to certain compensations “in an unfair manner” and noted that “Turkey said that the Turkish Cypriot who takes the property should pay”. He pointed out that the problems in the Commission began when Turkey stopped sending money. Hakki said that the IPC had paid 200 million sterling pounds in compensation until today, the entire sum being funded by Turkey.
According to the paper, there is an outstanding sum of 94 million pounds sterling in unpaid compensation, awarded by the Commission. There are compensations that have remained unpaid for 1.5 years and therefore those cases cannot be closed.
It has been noted that the number of applications by Greek Cypriots to the IPC has fallen dramatically in the last few years. In 2011, there were 2,500, by 2015, the number fell to 150.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Kibris Gazetesi’ reports that the chairman of the IPC, Gungor Gunkan has argued that the ownership of all properties for which compensation is paid passes to the TRNC, but they have to compare the value of the properties left by the Turkish Cypriots in the south of the island with the value of the properties which they were given in the North as equivalent and find out who has taken such property of equal value in lieu of his property in the South.
He noted: “I have been saying this for years. When these properties pass to us, many Turkish Cypriots are living on these properties and there are properties which they abandoned in the south when they came here. We have to evaluate these and bring them to a conclusion. For example, Mrs Ayse said that ‘I have left a property of 50 thousand Turkish liras in Limassol and was given a certain amount of points. In return of these, she was given something in the north. Is the value of these two properties the same or not? We must re-evaluate these the soonest and bring them to a conclusion”.
Havadis, Kibris Gazetesi
