CEDH · CASELAW;DECISIONS;DECCOMMISSION;ENG — 28 juin 1996

.sDD6737AE { font-size:11pt } .s211D6B00 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; line-height:normal; widows:0; orphans:0; font-size:8.5pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial }                          AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF                         Application No. 25781/94                       introduced by CYPRUS                       against TURKEY         The European Commission of Human Rights sitting in private on 28 June 1996, the following members being present:              MM.    S. TRECHSEL, President                  H. DANELIUS                  C.L. ROZAKIS                  E. BUSUTTIL                  G. JÖRUNDSSON                  A. WEITZEL                  J.-C. SOYER            Mrs.   J. LIDDY            MM.    M.P. PELLONPÄÄ                  B. MARXER                  M.A. NOWICKI                  I. CABRAL BARRETO                  B. CONFORTI                  I. BÉKÉS                  J. MUCHA                  G. RESS                  A. PERENIC                  P. LORENZEN                  K. HERNDL              Mr.    H.C. KRÜGER, Secretary to the Commission         Having regard to Article 24 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;         Having regard to the application introduced on 22 November 1994 by the Government of Cyprus against the Government of Turkey and registered on 24 November 1994 under file No. 25781/94;         Having regard to :   -      the observations on the admissibility of the application       submitted by the respondent Government on 10 July 1995;   -      the observations in reply submitted by the applicant Government       on 19 December 1995;   -      the additional documentary material submitted by the applicant       Government on 11 and 13 June 1996 and by the respondent       Government on 24 and 28 June 1996;   -      the parties' oral submissions at the hearing on 28 June 1996;   -      the report provided for in Rule 45 para. 2 of the Commission's       Rules of Procedure;         Having deliberated;         Decides as follows:   THE FACTS   1.     Original submissions         On 22 November 1994 the applicant Government submitted the application to the Commission in the following terms:         "1.   The Republic of Cyprus, a Member State of the Council       of Europe and High Contracting Party to the European       Convention on Human Rights and the Additional Protocols       thereto requests under Article 24 of the European       Convention on Human Rights the Secretary General of the       Council of Europe to refer to the European Commission of       Human Rights the following breaches of provisions of the       Convention and its First Protocol committed by the Republic       of Turkey, a Member State of the Council of Europe and High       Contracting Party to the European Convention on Human       Rights and Additional Protocols thereto.         2.   The Republic of Cyprus contends that the Republic of       Turkey since 4 October 1983, when the European Commission       of Human Rights adopted its Report in respect of       Application No. 8007/77, for violations of human rights by       Turkey in the areas occupied by the Turkish army in Cyprus,       continues to commit breaches of Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,       8, 9, 11, 13 of the Convention and of Articles 1, 2, 3 of       the First Protocol and of Articles 14 and 17 of the       Convention in conjunction with all the above mentioned       Articles.         3.   Turkey continues to occupy about 40% of the territory       of the Republic of Cyprus seized in consequence of the       invasion of Cyprus by Turkish troops on 20 July 1974.         4.   In the Turkish occupied area of Cyprus in question, and       ever since the adoption of the aforesaid Report by the       Commission, the following violations of human rights       continue to be committed, by way of systematic conduct, by       Turkish state organs and other persons acting with the       support and knowledge of Turkey, in utter disregard of the       obligations of Turkey under the European Convention on       Human Rights:         (a)   Unlawful detention of at least 1619 missing            Greek-Cypriots (a considerable number of them            being civilians) who were unlawfully deprived of            their liberty, in Turkish custody, in 1974,            Turkey having failed until now to account for            the fate of these persons.         (b)   Refusal to allow over 170.000 Greek-Cypriots to            return to their homes in the Turkish occupied            area of Cyprus.         (c)   Turkey continued, during also the last six            months, to force by inhuman methods Greek-            Cypriots living in the occupied area in question            to leave their homes and seek refuge in the            Government-controlled area of Cyprus and they            are being prevented by Turkey from returning to            their homes.         (d)   The homes and properties of the Greek-Cypriots            mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (c) above            continued to be the object of de facto            expropriation and illegal possession and            exploitation contrary to Article 1 of the First            Protocol and the general principles of            International Law. These continuing violations            have been intensified through the increased and            systematic settlement of settlers from Turkey,            with the encouragement and assistance of Turkey,            against the will of the lawful Government of            Cyprus.   Also, the agricultural produce of the            Greek-Cypriot properties continue to be            collected and exported to markets in several            European and other countries against the will of            the lawful owners thereof.         (e)   Families were and are still separated as a            result of the aforesaid continued refusal of            Turkey to allow the displaced Greek-Cypriots to            return to their homes in the Turkish occupied            area of Cyprus.         (f)   Through the continued and organised settlement            of settlers from Turkey in the occupied area of            Cyprus violations of the rights of the Greek-            Cypriots under Article 8 of the Convention and            Article 1 of the First Protocol have been            continuously taking place.         (g)   In concrete cases inhuman treatment of Greek-            Cypriots still living in the occupied part of            Cyprus has taken place contrary to Articles 3,            5, 6, 8 and 9 of the Convention and Article 2 of            the First Protocol.   Particulars of such            treatment will be made available in due course.         (h)   The above displacement of Greek-Cypriots and the            carrying out of elections by the illegal regime            operating in the Turkish occupied area of            Cyprus, with the support of Turkey, has resulted            in violations of the rights of the displaced            Greek-Cypriots under Article 3 of the First            Protocol.         5.    The situation resulting from the Turkish occupation of       the area of Cyprus in question continues to affect also the       rights and freedoms of Turkish-Cypriots living there,       particularly of those who in furtherance of Turkey's       political aims were forced and induced to move from the       southern part of Cyprus where they had their homes and       properties.   More specifically there have been and continue       to be violations of the rights of Turkish-Cypriots to       return to their homes and properties and to associate       freely with Greek-Cypriots living in the Government-       controlled area.         6.    No military operations or any fighting whatsoever has       taken place during the period to which the present       application relates.         7.    The violations in question were directed against       Greek-Cypriots because of their ethnic origin and religion.         8.    The victims of the above violations have no effective       remedy as provided under Article 13 of the Convention.         9.    No remedy in Turkish Courts was under the       circumstances likely to be effective and adequate for the       violations in question.   In any case, all the above       violations were committed and continue to be committed       under such circumstances which excuse the failure to resort       to any domestic remedy for the purposes of Article 26 of       the Convention.         10.   All the above violations will be proved by concrete       and positive evidence.   Full particulars regarding these       violations will be made available in due course.         11.   The Turkish occupied area is still sealed off and the       Turkish Military Authorities do not allow free access to       it.         12.   The Government of the Republic of Cyprus requests the       Commission to give precedence to the present application in       view of the extent and continuing nature of the violations       complained of.         13.   This application is made without prejudice to       individual applications against Turkey under Article 25 of       the Convention which have already been made or which will       be made in future."   2.     Particulars submitted by the applicant Government         On 3 March 1995 the applicant Government submitted "Particulars" of the application, supported by documentary evidence included in Annexes, which were later supplemented by further material.   These "Particulars" may be summarised as follows:   a)     As to the scope of Turkey's control over northern Cyprus         The applicant Government contend that notwithstanding the creation of local administrative structures ("the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" - TRNC), Turkey continues to be exclusively responsible under international law for events in northern Cyprus, including any violations of the Convention, because it exercises "exclusive de facto actual authority and effective control" and thus "jurisdiction" within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention over all persons and property in this area which in the applicant Government's submission continues to be under the military occupation of Turkey.         The applicant Government claim that, apart from Turkey's legal responsibility for northern Cyprus under the general principles of international law, "Turkey's actual overall control is pervasive and has been unaffected by her establishment and/or sponsorship of illegal local administrative structures".   It is claimed that "the local administrative apparatus is in fact subject at all times to Turkey's informal direction.   It is financially and physically dependent on and directed by Turkey.   In short, Turkey has unfettered and unimpeded power to enforce obedience to her behests, despite any appearance of puppet institutions.   If violations of human rights are effected by such institutions and persons acting under their purported authority, Turkey has both the duty and the actual power to act to prevent, stop and remedy such violations: it is Turkey's support to the illegal local administrative apparatus which keeps it in being; Turkey has full knowledge of decisions and conduct by so-called 'officials' of that apparatus; and, from behind the scenes, Turkey directs it."         In support of these allegations, the applicant Government submit the following:   -      The presence of over 30.000 members of the armed forces of Turkey in northern Cyprus make it "one of the most highly militarised areas in the world in terms of the ratio between numbers of troops and civilian population".   Allegedly, there has been a recent increase in the numbers of troops and upgrading of their equipment.   The troops are stationed throughout the occupied area and not only in the area adjacent to the buffer zone.   Turkish military courts exercise jurisdiction not only over members of the Turkish armed forces, but also over civilians entering military areas.   Allegedly 90 % of the occupied territory are military areas of various categories, leaving only 10 % as "Free Tourist Areas", and even the latter are not excluded from military enforcement action (Prohibited Military Areas Decree 1979).   -      Fortifications and minefields are maintained by the Turkish armed forces along the cease-fire lines (which the applicant Government refer to as "forward defence lines").   The applicant Government contest that the so-called "buffer zone" is a term of art reflecting the result of international agreements; as confirmed by UN documents, there are no agreements concerning the "buffer zone" by which powers were conferred on Turkish Cypriot authorities.   Rather, it is the Turkish armed forces who "seal off" the occupied area along the "contact line", permitting no movement either by Greek or Turkish Cypriots to or from the occupied area.   Entry into the First Prohibited Military Area (within a distance of 500 m from the "contact line") requires military authorisation. Movement across the lines is only exceptionally allowed, subject to grant of prior permission by the Turkish armed forces.   Also Turkish Cypriots who work in the area controlled by the Cypriot Government or at the British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia and even UNFICYP members need the Turkish military authorities' permission for crossing. Allegedly, the crossing points have been arbitrarily closed by the Turkish armed forces on certain occasions (e.g. on 11 July 1994 following a judgment of the European Court of Justice relating to the importation of goods from northern Cyprus into States members of the European Union).   -      As to the status of the Turkish Cypriot administration in northern Cyprus, the applicant Government submit that the proclamation of both the "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus" (13 February 1975) and of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (18 November 1983) were effected with the collaboration and under the responsibility of the Turkish mainland authorities.   The creation of these local administrative structures and the purported establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and the TRNC (17 April 1984) have been condemned and declared legally invalid by the UN Security Council.   The UN consider that "the Turkish Forces are the party to the cease-fire established in 1974 and cannot abrogate their responsibility in that regard".   The TRNC has not been recognised by the international community.         The applicant Government claim that the Government of the TRNC is subject to the authority and directions of the Government of Turkey and merely a product of Turkey's military occupation: "Turkish State organs are systematically involved in the governance of the occupied area and no decisions can be taken without Turkish knowledge and approval or acquiescence".   Reference is made in this context to the creation of special bodies in the Republic of Turkey for dealing with Cyprus issues, and to the manner in which the coordination between these bodies and the Turkish Cypriot administration is effected.         Until 1986, the major administrative mechanism to exercise political control was the "Cyprus Coordination Council" composed of Turkish Ministers.   Decisions were made in Ankara, submitted to the Turkish Cypriot Government for approval, and finally adopted and implemented by that Council.   The present structures include the existence, in Turkey, of a special State Minister for Coordination of Cyprus Issues, and of a Council for Aid, under the direct supervision of the Turkish Deputy Minister for Cypriot Affairs, which plans and coordinates the application of all funds emanating from Turkey to northern Cyprus.   Officials of that Council are present in many departments of the TRNC administration.   Political decisions regarding the TRNC are coordinated between the Cyprus Desk of the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the "Special War Department" of the Turkish General Staff. Allegedly, the Turkish Ambassador to the TRNC from time to time gives explicit instructions and informal directions to the TRNC Government and keeps close surveillance on their decision-making, the Embassy being represented at Cabinet meetings.   The applicant Government claim that, de facto, northern Cyprus is administered by a committee which meets regularly every week in Nicosia, and which consists of (i) the Commander of the Turkish Forces in the occupied area, (ii) the Commander of the Turkish Cypriot Security Forces, (iii) the Ambassador of Turkey and (iv) Mr. Denktash.   -      As regards the Turkish Cypriot Security Forces, the applicant Government claim that they are under the authority and subject to the orders of the Turkish Army's General Staff.   Their Commander is a Turkish national on active duty with the Turkish Army.   The expenses for maintaining these Security Forces are provided by Turkey.   -      Turkish control of the economy of the occupied area has been formalised by a series of "Economic Cooperation Protocols".   The first Protocol, signed on 5 December 1986, established a technical committee composed of Turkish Civil Servants and Turkish Cypriots to direct finance and economic policy.   A further document signed on 25 July 1990 was designed to integrate the economy of the TRNC with that of Turkey. The Turkish lira was introduced as the currency in the occupied area. Another document signed on 6 March 1992 purported to create an Economic Cooperation Area between Turkey and the TRNC.   Turkey pledged contributions to the TRNC budget, the financing of investment projects and technical assistance for drawing up a development plan.   According to Turkish Cypriot press reports, the Central Bank of the TRNC was integrated with the Central Bank of Turkey in August 1994.   The applicant Government also refer to the substantial size of direct financial payments by Turkey to the TRNC without which the administration of the occupied area could not function.   -      Finally, the applicant Government observe that Turkish State organs and the leadership of the TRNC cannot be expected to proclaim the reality of Turkey's control over the area.   Allegedly, they pursue a deliberate policy of dissimulating this reality.   Thus it is claimed that Turkish Cypriot political leaders and the press were warned not to provide information which could be used by the applicant Government as evidence of Turkish control in northern Cyprus.   However, the applicant Government quote a number of "revealing" statements of politicians published in the Turkish or Turkish Cypriot press which in their submission show that Turkey is determined, on grounds of national ideology and strategic military interests, to uphold its control of northern Cyprus and not to allow any change of the present situation.     b)     As to the alleged violations of the Convention         The applicant Government refer to the findings in the Commission's Reports on Applications Nos. 6780/74 and 6950/75 and No. 8007/77 and observe that no measures were taken by Turkey since the adoption of those Reports to end the violations of the Convention established by the Commission.   They claim in particular that there are continuing violations concerning the Greek Cypriot missing and displaced persons. Also new facts have emerged, involving, in particular, the process of settlement of mainland Turks in the northern part of Cyprus, the deterioration of the conditions of life of the people of the Karpas peninsula, and the coercive displacement of Greek Cypriots from the northern area.   The applicant Government submit that there is a "continuation of systematic measures and conduct aimed at the eventual extinction of the Greek Cypriot community in the Karpas peninsula".   They claim that "the cumulative effect of politically induced changes in the demographic make-up of the Turkish-controlled area, including the coercive displacement of Greek Cypriots, the refusal to allow Greek Cypriots to return to their homes and properties and the separation of families" amounts in effect to "ethnic cleansing".   It leads to "continued suffering and frustration to the victims and their families and to the people of Cyprus as a whole".         Greek Cypriot missing persons         The applicant Government submit that at least 1619 Greek Cypriots, many of them civilians, who were last seen alive in the occupied area of Cyprus after the Turkish invasion, or in Turkey in the custody of the Turkish armed forces, are still missing.   The applicant Government refer to the Commission's findings in this respect in the Report on Application No. 8007/77.   They point out that since 1975 the UN General Assembly has called for the tracing and accounting for these persons, that a Special Committee on Missing Persons has been set up in 1981, consisting of a Greek Cypriot member, a Turkish Cypriot member and a Red Cross representative appointed by the UN Secretary General. The arrangement is between the two Cypriot communities and does not involve Turkey.   However, due to procedural difficulties, the Committee achieved no progress in its investigative work.   After a call by the UN General Assembly in December 1982, it resumed work in March 1984, but soon its activities again came to a standstill.   Informal work started after a letter from the UN Secretary General of October 1993, but certain procedural matters have not been agreed upon.   In any event, even if it begins formal work, the Committee cannot deal with Turkey's responsibility or give any remedy against Turkey or any other bodies or persons.   Turkey herself has not provided any relevant information about the fate of the missing persons, and the resulting uncertainty has caused severe suffering to their families.         Greek Cypriot displaced persons         The applicant Government submit that Turkey, as a matter of policy, continues to refuse to allow over 170,000 (with children 211,000) Greek Cypriots to return to their homes in northern Cyprus. This is effected by the sealing off of the whole northern area by the Turkish armed forces.   Turkey ignores the resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council calling for urgent measures to facilitate the voluntary return of all refugees to their homes in safety.   Turkey has consistently supported the view that in the Island of Cyprus there are and must remain two separate demographically homogeneous States. The applicant Government describe this as "apartheid à la Turque" and "Turkish racialism".         As a particular example of this policy, the applicant Government refer to the situation in the Varosha suburb of Famagusta.   A large part of the suburb, the so-called "fenced area", remains under the overt control of the Turkish armed forces, despite Turkey professing to have handed over control to Turkish Cypriots.   The applicant Government refer to repeated calls of the UN Security Council since 1984 to hand over this area to the UN for administration prior to Greek Cypriot settlement, the Security Council considering attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible.   They further point out that the UN Security Council and Secretary General hold the Government of Turkey responsible for maintaining the status quo in the fenced area, and that despite this in 1994 Turkey sought unilaterally to change long-standing procedures for access to the fenced area, the Turkish forces refusing to treat with UNFICYP on this issue and referring them to Turkish Cypriot authorities.   Except for a Turkish army club, the use of two hotels as recreational facilities for the Turkish armed forces and a limited amount of settlement in hostels by students of the Turkish-sponsored Eastern Mediterranean University, Varosha has remained uninhabited for 20 years.   Turkish Prime Ministers have since 1977 repeatedly declared that they refuse to hand over Varosha to Greek Cypriots.         Enclaved Greek Cypriots in the Karpas area         Before 1974, the Karpas peninsula was predominently inhabited by Greek Cypriots.   Their number fell from 22,000 in 1974 to only 506 in 1994.   They are mostly old people (45 % over 70 and half of these over 80) and there is no renewal of population.   There is a clear danger of the Greek Cypriot population in that area becoming extinct within a few years.         The applicant Government have provided the following statistics:   20.7.74     20.8.74     20.10.74     1975     1976     1979     1983     1993     1994   22,000      16,372      14,577      9,308     6,393    1,533     940      524    506         They claim that whereas physical methods of expulsion were prevalent from 1976 to 1979, they had become unnecessary for Turkey by 1980.   Since then, the Turkish forces have delegated their functions to Turkish Cypriot "police" elements, a special plain-clothes "police" unit being responsible for surveillance of Greek Cypriots.   Allegedly, many of the methods of harassment earlier employed continue.   The applicant Government request the Commission to make a special finding concerning the inhuman methods used to force the remaining Greek Cypriot inhabitants to leave their homes and seek refuge in the area controlled by the Government of Cyprus, and which are described as "ethnic cleansing".   These practices include the following measures:   -      Enclaved Greek Cypriots are not allowed to leave their villages without special permission from the local "police" elements.   Such permission is rarely given and only subject to restrictive conditions such as reporting to the "police". For example, permission to visit Famagusta is only given for purposes of receiving medical attention; it involves four attendances at "police stations" on the day of the visit (in addition to two earlier visits for applying and receiving permission to travel).   Similarly, persons granted special permission to visit the Government-controlled area are required to notify the "police" at their home villages on leaving and on re-arrival.   Such "temporary transfer" requires giving 15 days notice in writing to the local "police" elements.   Travel can only occur once weekly in a specially designated bus.   Apart from that Greek Cypriot (and Turkish Cypriot) residents of the occupied area may apply for "family meetings" in the presence of UNFICYP in the Ledra Palace Hotel, a crossing point in Nicosia.   They can also receive short daily visits from Greek Cypriots residing abroad.   Permission is not given for transfer from one village to another, thus preventing the small numbers of isolated Greek Cypriots from forming larger communities and supporting each other.   Moreover, enclaved Greek Cypriots are not freely permitted to visit their fields and graze their animals.   They are confined to a very small area in the immediate vicinity of their particular villages.   -      Greek Cypriot doctors are not allowed to visit enclaved Greek Cypriots, and the local medical facilities are poor; sometimes the "police" refuse UNFICYP permission to evacuate Greek Cypriots for urgent specialist medical treatment in the Government-controlled area. This is particularly grave having regard to the advanced age of many ill persons.   -      Greek Cypriots are forbidden to communicate with UNFICYP except in the presence of Turks.   UNFICYP Humanitarian Branch personnel visiting Greek Cypriots are escorted by Turkish Cypriot "police". UNFICYP must itself obtain prior permission for visits.   Visits are closely watched by Turkish Cypriot "police" and speech in the presence of such "police" is constrained.   Failure to observe these restrictions results in arrest and sometimes beating.   Communications between enclaved Greek Cypriots and their relatives in the Government- controlled area are permitted only by means of messages censored by Turkish military authorities and then delivered by UNFICYP.   Such messages are often destroyed and not handed to UNFICYP for delivery. Telephones are available to Greek Cypriots only in Turkish Cypriot local "police stations" and calls are only possible with "police" permission and "police" presence.   Persons who have exceptionally obtained permission for a "temporary transfer" to visit the Government- controlled area are searched and letters carried by them for relatives or other enclaved persons are seized.   Greek Cypriot newspapers in Greek language are not permitted to circulate in the Turkish-occupied area and copies brought back by visitors of the Government-controlled area are confiscated.   Books are also confiscated.   -      Greek Cypriots are not permitted freely to transact commercial transactions or to carry on any profession, trade or business in the occupied area and thus to earn a living.   They have to rely mainly on charity and food and financial support sent to them by the Cyprus Government through UNFICYP.   Fishermen are only permitted to line-fish from the shore and may not use their boats.   -      As to educational facilities for Greek Cypriots in northern Cyprus, the situation is particularly grave.   There remain only two elementary schools and only three Greek Cypriot teachers.   All Greek Cypriot secondary schools had to be closed.   Teachers from the Government-controlled area are not permitted to render services in the occupied area.   Much of the equipment of the remaining elementary schools has been confiscated, school books are censored or banned. Children at the age of 12 have to make the choice whether to leave northern Cyprus in order to obtain secondary education or stay with their parents without receiving secondary education.   40 % of the parents opt for the latter solution because the Turkish authorities permit secondary school children to return to visit their parents only in the Christmas, Easter and summer vacations.   Once boys reach the age of 16 and girls that of 18, they are not allowed at all to return to the occupied area or to visit their parents.   -      The manifestation of their religion by enclaved Greek Cypriots is restricted by the prohibition on replacement of Greek Cypriot priests of whom only two remain in the occupied area.   Services at the major church and shrine of pilgrimage in the Karpas peninsula are prohibited except on 15 August and 30 November of each year. Attendance of funeral services is restricted to close relatives living in the Government-controlled area, remoter relatives and friends not being given permission.   -      Cases continue of direct physical violence or death threats against Greek Cypriots.   Breaking into houses and damage to property occur on such a scale that people fear leaving their homes unattended. Cases of psychological pressure are frequent, such as repeated knocking on doors and stoning of houses at night time.   The fear of harassment suffered by Greek Cypriots has been intensified by the large-scale systematic settlement of colonists from the Turkish mainland which has created an alien, often hostile and threatening environment.   In the remaining six villages where Greek Cypriots still live, Turkish settlers greatly outnumber the Greek Cypriot residents.   It is alleged that no effective remedy exists for Greek Cypriots who wish to complain about assaults and robberies.   Fears of victimisation prevent such complaints and the naming of witnesses.   The applicant Government refer in particular to a report of 8 April 1994 by the UNFICYP Chief Humanitarian Officer which explains the reasons why Greek Cypriots are reluctant to report crimes committed against them.   -      The far-reaching restrictions which affect most aspects of the daily life and civil rights of Greek Cypriots in northern Cyprus are arbitrary and not established or regulated by law or controlled by the courts.   The applicant Government again refer to the above report by the UNFICYP Chief Humanitarian Officer.   -      Greek Cypriots who succumb to the fierce pressures to leave the occupied area include persons of both sexes and all ages.   When they leave their homes are allocated to settlers from Turkey.   Once they have left, they may not change their minds and are prevented by the Turkish forces from returning to their homes.   There are some limited exceptions for temporary reunion of families, but permanent reunion byway of return of Greek Cypriot family members to their parents in the Karpas or by regular or even intermittent visits is denied.   Greek Cypriots who have once left the Karpas are under no circumstances permitted to return to reside there.           Turkish settlers         The applicant Government submit that the grave situation in Cyprus has been intensified by the increased and systematic settlement of colonists from the Turkish mainland.   They refer to a Report on the Demographic Structure of the Cypriot Communities, by Mr. A. Cuco, Rapporteur to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, published on 27 April 1992, in which it was inter alia stated that "most of the settlers were transferred to Cyprus as the result of a decision of the Turkish authorities" and that "the aim of the Turkish-Cypriot administration's policy regarding the Turkish migrants has been to encourage their permanent settlement on the island".   The applicant Government submit that since the compilation of the Cuco Report, Turkish settlement has continued, the process being accelerated in 1991, to a degree that even Turkish Cypriot politicians took exception. They refer to statements of the Secretary General of the Republican Turkish Party, Mr. Soyer, who declared in May 1993 that "Turkish Cypriots are face to face with annihilation" and that "when the occupied area opened to the settlers without any control, the Turkish Cypriots started feeling aliens in their own country".   A similar statement was also made by the leader of the same party, Mr. Özgür, in August 1993.   Reference has further been made to a number of critical comments in the Turkish Cypriot press.         The new measures adopted since 1991 were the following:   -      After 2 September 1991, no passports were demanded to be shown for entry by Turkish citizens to the TRNC.   They could enter with Turkish identity cards only.   From October 1992 no "entry cards" were required for Turkish citizens.   -      By a Turkish law of 17 November 1992 persons with a "work permit" in the TRNC were exempted from the military draft in Turkey, and this despite the armed conflict in South East Turkey and Turkey's need of army personnel for this purpose.   In the applicant Government's view this indicates the high priority which Turkey gives to the settler programme.         Turkey's direct involvement is also shown by Turkey's declared policy to "balance", i.e. to achieve the parity of population numbers of Turks and Greek Cypriots in the island of Cyprus.   The applicant Government refer to statements in this sense made by Turkey's State Minister for Cyprus Affairs, Mr. Kilercioglu, in August 1992, by TRNC "Prime Minister", Mr. Eroglu, in September 1993, and by "the compulsorily retired 'Director of Registration'", Mr. Adali, in December 1994.   In this context, it is also alleged that Turkey refused to allow the TRNC to import 5000 Romanian and Bulgarian migratory workers, instead insisting on the importation of Anatolians.   Newspaper articles revealed that 5000 were recruited by the Employment Agency of Konya in December 1992, and that an agreement was reached between Turkey and the TRNC in January 1993 to meet an immediate demand for 2000 Turkish guest workers.         It is further alleged   that Turkey is directly involved in the grant of TRNC "citizenship" to settlers.   Turkish citizens need permission of the Turkish Ministry of the Interior to acquire foreign citizenship.   According to an article of the Turkish Cypriot newspaper "Yenicag" of 20 September 1993 Turkey ordered the TRNC administration not to grant "citizenship" to anybody without such permission, and to exclude Kurds.   Reference was also made to a practice of substitution in the official TRNC papers of a northern Cypriot birthplace for that in mainland Turkey.   Other newspaper articles reported about the large numbers of settlers who were granted "citizenship": during an election period in 1993, 5000 "citizenships" were offered by a change in the citizenship law, apparently to illegal workers; 250 new identity cards were being issued every day; voter registration continued rapidly to expand also in 1994, the number of voters increased by 4800 in 5 months; 2281 Turkish settlers were granted "citizenship" in 1994 according to the TRNC "Minister of the Interior".         According to the applicant Government, Turkey and the TRNC conceal the number of settlers and refuse to conduct a census as requested by the Turkish Cypriot political opposition, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the UN Security Council.   For this reason it is difficult to provide statistics. According to estimates prepared by the Republic of Cyprus Department of Statistics and Research, the number of settlers ranged between 65,500 and 70,600 at the end of 1990, between 69,000 and 87,000 at the end of 1992, and between 73,700 and 92,100 at the end of 1993.   Some sources speak of 100,000 settlers.   To these must be added 30,000 or more Turkish army personnel and their families and 12,000 illegal Turkish workers, so that the total number of mainland Turks (between 115,000 and 135,000) already outnumbers that of Turkish Cypriots (between 60,000 and 100,000).   There is a strong emigration of Turkish Cypriots to the United Kingdom, according to one source a total of 57,000 having left the island in the period between 1974 and 1993.         The applicant Government allege that in connection with the settlement policy the nature of Greek Cypriot homes is changed. Measures to "turkicise" the area include the change of all place names and public signs from Greek to Turkish to eliminate evidence of Greek culture and language and the deliberate turning of churches into mosques.   In addition, these measures also adversely affect Turkish Cypriots, as evidenced by the Turkish Cypriot press.   The demographic changes are intensified by measures for the allocation of Greek Cypriot property to the settlers.         The treatment of the possessions of displaced Greek Cypriots         The applicant Government submit that the situation concerning the property of the 170,000 Greek Cypriots displaced from the north remains the same as before, they continue to be prevented from returning to their possessions and getting access to it for any purpose, their titles being denied.   This applies to both movable and immovable property.         As regards movable property, the applicant Government refer to the severing and harvesting of agricultural produce from the land belonging to Greek Cypriots by labourers sent from Turkey to northern Cyprus, and its commercialisation by Turkish companies, in particular those of Mr. Asil Nadir, which, "acting on invitation in the early 1980s from the Turkish Government", became responsible for most of the exploitation of citrus orchards in the areas of Morphou and Lefka. Following a judgment of the European Court of Justice in July 1994, holding that lemons and potatoes cannot be imported from the TRNC into the European Community, because they are not supported by lawful movement and phytosanitary certificates, Turkey in January 1995 decided to remove all restrictions on import from northern Cyprus and to use Mersin as the export gate for this area.   In this way agricultural produce from northern Cyprus is since November 1994 being exported to third countries accompanied by Turkish certificates.         Other movable property was also taken into official Turkish custody.   Thus 70 tons of Greek and English books, magazines and brochures collected from Famagusta were stored in a warehouse.   An attempt to dispose of this material by auction in October 1994 was stopped by some Turkish Cypriot politicians.         Furthermore, there has been interference with movable property of the Church of Cyprus, such as relics, icons, church furniture and mosaics severable from the fabric left behind in northern Cyprus. The Church has not been permitted to safeguard its treasures, by having access to guard, remove or restore them.   There continues to be wanton destruction, theft by individuals, and official connivanc