Our View: Could Famagusta property sales be stopped?

The issue of Israelis investing in the occupied north was raised by President Nikos Christodoulides at Wednesday’s meeting – his first – with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The information was attributed to diplomatic sources, which also said that Netanyahu responded positively to the idea of addressing these actions.

According to the diplomatic sources, the Cyprus government had worrying information about the business activities of Israelis in the occupied north, including the investment in properties belonging to Greek Cypriots. It was interesting that Christodoulides decided to make this concern public, even though the Israeli investments in the north are not something new or unique as Russians and Britons have also bought properties and set up businesses.

Was the president hoping to put some pressure on Netanyahu by making his concerns public? Very doubtful, considering the Israeli PM, even if he wanted to, could not stop his citizens from investing in the occupied area. No government can do this. All it can do is issue advice to its citizens, warning them of the danger of investing in real estate in a place where property ownership is disputed and, in some cases, could lead to legal battles with the owner.

Other than this, there is nothing Netanyahu could do and Christodoulides knows it, which makes it difficult to understand why he made the expression of concern in a private meeting public. Could the objective have been an indirect way of informing Greek Cypriots about what is happening in the north? Phileleftheros, offered an explanation along this line, in its report about the meeting in Israel, saying that “Nicosia’s move is not unrelated with everything that has been happening recently in the broader area of Famagusta and the information indicating that investors from several countries (including Israel) being intensively active in the occupied area.”

For years, we avoided any talk about Greek Cypriot properties in the north being bought up and developed by foreigner investors (we focused on Turkish casino owners and foreign house-buyers), but reports about the sale agreement for three hotels in the fenced off area of Famagusta was a wake-up call to the government. A meeting was arranged at the presidential palace to discuss the development and once again the idea of compensating refugees for their properties was thrown about, even though the funds did not exist. A fund set up a few years ago for the purpose of helping owners of properties in the north and discouraging them from applying to the Immovable Properties Commission (IPC) never really got off the ground.

Meanwhile, a few days ago, the president of the Hoteliers’ Association Pasyxe, Haris Loizides, revealed that Greek Cypriot estate agents and middlemen were approaching people with properties in Famagusta, asking if they were prepared to sell.  For this to be happening, there must be interest from foreign investors/speculators for properties in the fenced off area Famagusta as well as other parts of the north. And there are owners who have, understandably, given up on the possibility of a settlement, wanting to make some money out of properties they have had no access to for 50 years.

The official line, adopted by successive governments, is that Famagusta property owners must not sell, as this would pave the way for development of the fenced off town by the Turkish side and eliminate that extremely slim hopes of its return to the Greek Cypriots. This was why Famagusta property-owners were actively discouraged from applying to the IPC and the fund was established but never properly activated. Now, fearing that news of the sale of the three hotels could set off a sales rush, the government has remembered the existence of the fund and the finance minister was discussing ways to bring money into it. Pasyxe, meanwhile, has set up a committee that would discuss incentives for property-owners not to sell.

The reality is that Famagusta property-owners have been lied to and misled by the political system for so long, they are unlikely to believe any promises made by the government and parties. For years they were told to wait for the settlement that would see the return of the town and their properties, but presidents have spurned several such opportunities. Christodoulides, in alliance with all the anti-settlement parties, is unlikely to even pursue a deal.

So, should Famagustans not sell or apply to the IPC for some compensation because this suits the Cyprus problem rhetoric of the politicians who have been selling them false hopes and lies for decades? Can property-owners believe anything they are told now? What they are being told, in effect, is to surrender their properties for free to the Turks. This is what will happen without a settlement, which is by far the likeliest scenario.

How will the government stop a rush of sales of properties in the fenced off area of Famagusta, which is now a distinct possibility? Is there a plan other than asking Netanyahu to stop Israeli citizens from buying properties in Famagusta?