Ill-treatment by the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus against Turkish vessel captains has been admitted in the Monitoring Report of the Committee for Preventing Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT Committee) of the United Nations in Geneva.
The U.N. CAT Committee, which, pursuant to the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, monitors the actions of the countries party to the convention, has accepted the applications by the Cyprus Turkish Union of Ship Owners and Cyprus Turkish Union of Shipagencies and has articulated the Greek Cypriots’ ill-treatment and actions as such against Turkish sea captains in the monitoring report.
In the evidences and plea presented by the International maritime Lawyer Bilun Elmacıoğlu in Geneva on behalf of the Cyprus Turkish Union Ship Owners and Cyprus Turkish Union Shipagencies, it was revealed and documented that all sea captains who used the ports of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and who, subsequently, wanted to enter the ports of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC) were threatened, with in particular Turkish vessel captains being arrested and deprived of the fundamental human rights such as being provided an interpreter and a solicitor, and were released days after without any explanation having been exposed to the ill-treatment of the Greek Cypriot police.
Elmacıoğlu, stating that the Turkish Cypriots have been domineered economically and psychologically by being imposed a gradually deepening isolation and that they have been tried to be deprived of accessing the fundamental human rights, emphasized that, as a result of their attempts, awareness has started to rise in the U.N.
“It has been exposed that the unlawful decision of the Greek Cypriot Administration was not valid,” Elmacıoğlu said.
“Greek Cypriot Administration used its domestic law decision that the Famagusta, Kyrenia and Karavostassi ports of the TRNC were ‘closed and prohibited’ ports as an ‘international decision,’ and reported its allegation that this was a U.N. and EU decision to all countries in the world.
“The perception that the international law, U.N. and EU embargo decisions are violated in the event of docking in the ports of TRNC, of direct trading with or providing service to the companies in the TRNC was created by this unlawful method. Against this totally political lobbying attempt, we took steps before Panama, France, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and all other addressee organizations, and proved that the decision made by the Greek Cypriot Administration was invalid. The addressee institutions also accepted that there was no embargo before U.N. and EU addressing the TRNC.”
Elmacıoğlu drew attention to the fact that preventing access to the rights set forth in the United Nations Convention on Human Rights is accepted as “human rights violation” in international legal norms and court decisions.
“We conveyed the U.N. Committee that the trade restrictions and obstructions experienced in the TRNC as a result of the Greek Cypriot Administration’s implementations, which disregard the international law, caused isolation, that the people’s access to many rights was prevented, and that they had access to fundamental human needs such as food etc., particularly medicine, late and at high prices.
“We reminded that the globalization of the TRNC, and its commercial, economic, cultural and social development can only be ensured through air- and seaports. We drew attention to the fact that the Ercan Airport was closed to the international flights, and that the island can only open to the outer world through Famagusta and Kyrenia ports. We emphasized that the business people settled in the TRNC had been experiencing serious business losses due to the ever-increasing lobbying activities of the Greek Cypriot Administration, especially for the last two years, that they hindered the direct trade by threat and prevented the economic development, and that the isolation was deepened by preventing ‘Access to Economic and Social Rights’, that are also fundamental human rights.”
The U.N. CAT Committee, which, pursuant to the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, monitors the actions of the countries party to the convention, has accepted the applications by the Cyprus Turkish Union of Ship Owners and Cyprus Turkish Union of Shipagencies and has articulated the Greek Cypriots’ ill-treatment and actions as such against Turkish sea captains in the monitoring report.
In the evidences and plea presented by the International maritime Lawyer Bilun Elmacıoğlu in Geneva on behalf of the Cyprus Turkish Union Ship Owners and Cyprus Turkish Union Shipagencies, it was revealed and documented that all sea captains who used the ports of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and who, subsequently, wanted to enter the ports of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC) were threatened, with in particular Turkish vessel captains being arrested and deprived of the fundamental human rights such as being provided an interpreter and a solicitor, and were released days after without any explanation having been exposed to the ill-treatment of the Greek Cypriot police.
Elmacıoğlu, stating that the Turkish Cypriots have been domineered economically and psychologically by being imposed a gradually deepening isolation and that they have been tried to be deprived of accessing the fundamental human rights, emphasized that, as a result of their attempts, awareness has started to rise in the U.N.
“It has been exposed that the unlawful decision of the Greek Cypriot Administration was not valid,” Elmacıoğlu said.
“Greek Cypriot Administration used its domestic law decision that the Famagusta, Kyrenia and Karavostassi ports of the TRNC were ‘closed and prohibited’ ports as an ‘international decision,’ and reported its allegation that this was a U.N. and EU decision to all countries in the world.
“The perception that the international law, U.N. and EU embargo decisions are violated in the event of docking in the ports of TRNC, of direct trading with or providing service to the companies in the TRNC was created by this unlawful method. Against this totally political lobbying attempt, we took steps before Panama, France, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and all other addressee organizations, and proved that the decision made by the Greek Cypriot Administration was invalid. The addressee institutions also accepted that there was no embargo before U.N. and EU addressing the TRNC.”
Elmacıoğlu drew attention to the fact that preventing access to the rights set forth in the United Nations Convention on Human Rights is accepted as “human rights violation” in international legal norms and court decisions.
“We conveyed the U.N. Committee that the trade restrictions and obstructions experienced in the TRNC as a result of the Greek Cypriot Administration’s implementations, which disregard the international law, caused isolation, that the people’s access to many rights was prevented, and that they had access to fundamental human needs such as food etc., particularly medicine, late and at high prices.
“We reminded that the globalization of the TRNC, and its commercial, economic, cultural and social development can only be ensured through air- and seaports. We drew attention to the fact that the Ercan Airport was closed to the international flights, and that the island can only open to the outer world through Famagusta and Kyrenia ports. We emphasized that the business people settled in the TRNC had been experiencing serious business losses due to the ever-increasing lobbying activities of the Greek Cypriot Administration, especially for the last two years, that they hindered the direct trade by threat and prevented the economic development, and that the isolation was deepened by preventing ‘Access to Economic and Social Rights’, that are also fundamental human rights.”
