Date: 22.09.2005
Recent weeks have proved to be an eventful period for Eupro, the highlight being the landmark judgement handed down through the London Courts in July, by Justice Newman. The Greater London Transport Authority, acting on a complaint received from a single individual, Brian Coleman, the Chair of the Greater London Authority and an unabashed apologist for the Greek Cypriot cause, banned an advertisement promoting the TRNC as a holiday destination, on the grounds that 'it offended a significant proportion of the public'. Eupro sought advice from its legal advisers Addleshaw Goddard and used this opinion to persuade the TRNC government that it was crucial to contest this ban in the courts. Having received an undertaking that the government would underwrite any possible legal costs, an action was initiated in the name of the TRNC's London-based Tourist office, and the tour operator Cyprus Paradise. The ban was intended to be yet another weapon in the Greek Cypriot war against the economy of the TRNC. However, the putative ban has proved an ill-conceived political venture, creating a number of important precedents that the TRNC will be able to exploit in the future - at the same time, the judgement has drained the coffers of the Greater London Authority of a sum of several hundred thousand pounds. The Greek Cypriots' commercial campaign has been most virulent, blatantly distorting the reasons that lay behind the Turkish intervention in 1974, with a elear intent to deter prospective tourists, and potential purchasers of property in the TRNC. Heartened by the TfL success, Eupro has now initiated a formal complaint to the Press Council regarding an article written by Greek Cypriot journalist Helena Smith and published in The Guardian newspaper on June 27. Smith shelters behind her English surname, creating the impression that her reporting is even-handed. The date of publication was patently timed to coincide with the broadcast of ITV's Tonight current affairs programme, fronted by Trevor MacDonald, in which Smith's participation was the cornerstone. Smith's contributions focused on her interpretation of the so-called 'dangers' of purchasing property in the north: 'As ever more Greek Cypriots, exploiting E U law, launch legal proceedings for properties they were forced to abandon during the 1974 Turkish invasion, many (of these) UK citizens have discovered that their title deeds are worthless. . . ' Furthermore, she claims that dozens of those who have purchased property in the north face prosecution and will be obliged to demolish the property that they have purchased. Also that they will become the subject of International Arrest Warrants facing the prospect that any property they own elsewhere in the world will be sequestrated to defray compensation to the former Greek Cypriot owner of the property in the TRNC. This is a travesty; only one foreign owner has faced prosecution in a 'test' case that is so full of discrepancies it has no chance of achieving any effective result. The alleged 'offence' was committed in the TRNC and, as the courts of the TRNC enjoy international de facto recognition, that is where the argument should have been heard. The delivery of that summons was seriously flawed and should not have been recognised; European Arrest Warrants explicitly exclude Real Estate from the list of acceptable offences - and to date not a single warrant has been issued against anyone purchasing property in the north. Perhaps the most glaring defect in the argument in favour of International Arrest Warrants is that the alleged offence has to be an offence in the country to which the arrest warrant is addressed, and those in question are not. This campaign is designed to spread fear, and it is considered very unlikely that the Greek Cypriots will want to risk rejection of their claim in any European court. The Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos recently undertook an official visit to the UK. To coincide with that official visit Eupro has sponsored a two-page spread in Parliamentary Brief, a magazine distributed free to Downing Street, Members of Parliament, diplomatic missions, political journalists, senior civil servants, major UK universities and libraries, as well as the CEOs of many leading companies. Parliamentary Brief draws attention to Mr. Papadopoulos' role in the notorious Akritas Plan of the 1960s. This plan was produced by the Greek Cypriot Administration (long before Turkey's intervention in 1974), implementing a concerted programme of genocide with the sole intention of removing all Turkish Cypriots from Cyprus, thus achieving union with mainland Greece (Enosis). Turkish Cypriots, in fear for their lives, were forced to abandon their property and gather together in tiny enclaves. Much of their property has subsequently been exploited by Greek Cypriots for profit, with no compensation to the titleholders. At a time when the western world is preoccupied with resolving some of the outstanding issues of the war of genocide in the Balkans by arresting Slobodan Milosovitch, here is an example of the British Government finding itself obliged to entertain Papadopoulos, a man who arguably has as much blood on his hands as Milosovitch, yet Papadopoulos is free to walk the international stage. The Balkans link does not end there: Milosovitch is alleged to have laundered looted funds from Kosovo, with the connivance of law firms and private individuals in the south. if this should ever be proved, it is difficult to see how those in authority in a member state of the European Union will be able to escape some form of culpability. Eupro Limited is a company that is limited by guarantee and is registered in London. it draws its membership from people who have a positive interest in the TRNC. Helping to preserve the economy of northern Cyprus by taking a prominent role in countering Greek Cypriot propaganda and engaging in appropriate laws suits is seen to be a key measure in protecting the interests of its membership, and supporting the good of the country. Visit the web site at www.eupro.co.uk