Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NICOSIA37
2009-01-22 07:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nicosia
Cable title:  

CYPRUS: FORMER FM PREDICTS DIFFICULT SLEDDING ON

Tags:  PGOV PREL UNFICYP CY TU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2203
RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHNC #0037/01 0220727
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 220727Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9512
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1314
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NICOSIA 000037 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNFICYP CY TU
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: FORMER FM PREDICTS DIFFICULT SLEDDING ON
PROPERTY TALKS

REF: (ORAMS CABLE)

Classified By: AMBASSADOR FRANK C. URBANCIC FOR REASONS 1.4B AND 1.4D

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NICOSIA 000037

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNFICYP CY TU
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: FORMER FM PREDICTS DIFFICULT SLEDDING ON
PROPERTY TALKS

REF: (ORAMS CABLE)

Classified By: AMBASSADOR FRANK C. URBANCIC FOR REASONS 1.4B AND 1.4D


1. (C) Summary: Former Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister
Erato Marcoullis on January 16 candidly told the Ambassador
that the Property working group had achieved only modest
success despite months of intensive discussions. Marcoullis,
who headed the G/C delegation, noted the sides held
fundamentally different positions at the onset of property
discussions between leaders Demetris Christofias and Mehmet
Ali Talat, a fact that could contribute to their failure to
reach an overall settlement in 2009. She was optimistic they
would make progress this year, however. On the
Apostolides-Orams property case (Reftel),Marcoullis
considered it less the game-changer than other Embassy
contacts had, but admitted that current occupiers of between
5,000 and 6,000 Greek Cypriot properties in the north might
be affected. The former FM appeared unconcerned about the
upcoming "parliamentary" elections in the "TRNC," claiming
that negotiations would continue despite possible leadership
changes. End Summary.
--------------
Convergence on Property Remains Elusive
--------------

2. (C) With settlement discussion on property set to commence
officially on January 28, the Ambassador requested a meeting
with former FM and current G/C property honcho Erato
Marcoullis. Marcoullis visited the Embassy on January 16 and
briefed on the state of play. She and her Turkish Cypriot
counterpart unfortunately had made little substantive
progress in the Working Group discussions held between March
and July. Despite nearly 25 meetings, they were only able to
agree that churches, mosques, and monasteries should be
returned to their original owners. All other property issues
remained unresolved, pointing to difficult negotiations
between Talat and Christofias.
--------------
G/Cs favor Original Owners' Freedom of Choice
--------------

3. (C) There was no communication breakdown in the meeting
rooms, Marcoullis assured: G/Cs and T/Cs understood each
others' stances on Property, but they were far apart on
fundamentals. Greek Cypriots' positions were "based on

principles and precedent, allowing all original owners --
both G/Cs and T/Cs -- to choose either restitution of their
property, compensation, or exchange." She conceded that G/C
land that had been used for roads or other public works
obviously could not be returned. Further, Marcoullis
reassured that no Turkish Cypriots would be left homeless as
a result of property restitution, because G/C proposals
ensured adequate time for T/Cs to relocate. G/C owners would
be encouraged to proffer lease arrangements to current
residents, for example.

4. (C) Marcoullis claimed the G/C proposals were totally
consistent with the principles of bi-zonality and
bi-communality, as Greek Cypriots understood them. Even if
all 170,000 Greek Cypriot refugees who fled to the south
after 1974 wished to return to their properties, they would
still constitute a minority in the Turkish Cypriot
constituent state. This scenario was highly unlikely,
because most G/Cs had established themselves in other cities
in Cyprus or abroad and would be reluctant to uproot
themselves again, she contended. Greek Cypriot experts
estimated that less than one-third of those entitled to
restitution would return to their properties in the north in
a post-settlement Cyprus.
-------------- --------------
Turkish Cypriots Prefer a Criteria-based Approach
-------------- --------------

5. (C) Marcoullis claimed the T/C position on property was
centered on 15 criteria that Greek Cypriot owners had to meet
to be eligible for restitution. They were so restrictive,
however, that only two percent of G/Cs would be able to
regain their properties. Among the T/C stipulations were
that only living refugees (not their heirs) were entitled to
restitution, and that G/C properties which current occupants
had significantly improved were excluded. Those two criteria
alone would preclude restitution to the majority of Greek
Cypriot property owners.
-------------- --------------
Apostolides vs Orams Case Significant, Not Crucial
-------------- --------------

6. (C) Marcoullis downplayed the importance of the
Apostolides-Orams property case currently being decided by
the European Court of Justice, even though the ECJ likely
would rule in the Greek Cypriot plaintiff's favor (Reftel).

NICOSIA 00000037 002 OF 002


The verdict would primarily affect G/C properties in the
north that were sold to EU citizens who "knowingly had
purchased the property illegally," rather than the
far-more-numerous properties occupied by Turkish Cypriots or
mainland Turks. Marcoullis thought that, if Apostolides won,
the owners of approximately 5,000-6,000 properties would
likely follow with similar lawsuits. She was quick to
emphasize, however, that the Greek Cypriot position on
property was not founded upon this or any other court
judgment, but rather upon the UN's "Pinheiro Principles,"
which stated that all refugees and displaced persons have the
right to have restored to them any housing, land or property
of which they were arbitrarily or unlawfully deprived.
--------------
"There is no time limit on negotiations"
--------------

7. (C) When asked about the prospects for a solution should a
less pro-solution "TRNC government" come to power, Marcoullis
claimed that settlement negotiations historically had
continued despite leadership changes on either side of the
Green Line. She repeated the common G/C position that
attempts to place arbitrary timelines on the process were
counterproductive. "Cyprus is not Kosovo," she argued, and
"we can never speak of last chances." Although she doubted
the current process would lead to a solution in 2009, she
believed the two sides would have "something to show" for
their efforts by the end of the year.
--------------
Comment
--------------

8. (C) Former FM Marcoullis provided useful insight into the
two sides' negotiating positions on property, even though her
portrayal of the chasm between the G/Cs and the T/Cs left us
wondering how Christofias and Talat will be able to bridge
the divide as they begin talks this week. Property is likely
to be the most difficult negotiating chapter, since a
quarter-million refugees and their families will be closely
watching the process and protesting if they feel their rights
are being prejudiced.
Urbancic