By Jacqueline Theodoulou (archive article - Thursday, January 26, 2006)
A LARGE number of Maronite properties in occupied Ayia Marina of Skilloura have been illegally transferred to Turkish Cypriots, with Maronite representative to the House Antonis Hadjiroussos saying he will go as far as the Vatican to find justice.As Hadjiroussos explained, when ‘foreign minister’ Serdar Denktash recently announced that refugee Maronites were now entitled to use their properties, the refugees went to rent them out, only to be greeted by Turkish Cypriots claiming to be rightful owners of them. Producing ‘title deeds’ signed over by Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s ‘government’; Maronites were told that the properties no longer belonged to them.“When I was notified about the problem, I investigated further in order to determine the exact dimensions of the problem. I found that, especially in Ayia Marina, many properties had been illegally signed over to Turkish Cypriots.”Community members are exasperated and are now considering legal action. Hadjiroussos said that he will reach the highest levels, in cooperation with the government, to resolve the situation. “We will address ambassadors in Nicosia as well as Europe and we will even reach the Vatican and ask for the Pope’s intervention,” he warned. Affected Maronites gathered at Hadjiroussos’ office on Tuesday and heard information given by a Turkish Cypriot lawyer, who confirmed that a large number of Maronite properties had been handed over to Turkish Cypriots. It also emerged that the embezzlement had began in the years 1999-2001 and continued until recently.
A LARGE number of Maronite properties in occupied Ayia Marina of Skilloura have been illegally transferred to Turkish Cypriots, with Maronite representative to the House Antonis Hadjiroussos saying he will go as far as the Vatican to find justice.As Hadjiroussos explained, when ‘foreign minister’ Serdar Denktash recently announced that refugee Maronites were now entitled to use their properties, the refugees went to rent them out, only to be greeted by Turkish Cypriots claiming to be rightful owners of them. Producing ‘title deeds’ signed over by Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s ‘government’; Maronites were told that the properties no longer belonged to them.“When I was notified about the problem, I investigated further in order to determine the exact dimensions of the problem. I found that, especially in Ayia Marina, many properties had been illegally signed over to Turkish Cypriots.”Community members are exasperated and are now considering legal action. Hadjiroussos said that he will reach the highest levels, in cooperation with the government, to resolve the situation. “We will address ambassadors in Nicosia as well as Europe and we will even reach the Vatican and ask for the Pope’s intervention,” he warned. Affected Maronites gathered at Hadjiroussos’ office on Tuesday and heard information given by a Turkish Cypriot lawyer, who confirmed that a large number of Maronite properties had been handed over to Turkish Cypriots. It also emerged that the embezzlement had began in the years 1999-2001 and continued until recently.
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