PRESS RELEASE
While the American Hellenic Institute supports Congressional Bill No. 2597, its closer examination reveals it legitimizes the "unincorporated association" of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an "agent" of Turkey instead of condemning it as a pseudo-state.
A Bill is proposed legislation first approved by a congressional committee. Based on a law that sought to compensate Americans for their properties in communist countries, the Bill equates the puppet Turkish administration in the illegally occupied 36% of the territory of the ROC with a government. It guts the power of U.S. Courts to vindicate the rights of Greek Cypriots as it happened in the case of the Mosaics of Kanakaria (Autocephalous Church of Cyprus v. Goldberg) declaring the pseudo-state an “unrecognized party” when it claimed ownership over the artifacts. Presently, unrecognized regimes cannot resort to US courts, although they can be sued and have no immunity. However, if the Bill becomes law, the pseudo-state may become immune to lawsuits.
If Congress could mandate the Obama administration to negotiate with illegal entities, foreign relations would be conducted with thugs. Rather than exposing the mafia element of the regime when it occupies and steals properties, the Bill cloaks the pseudo-state with the legitimacy of a sovereign undermining law, legal precedents and United Nation Resolutions 541 and 550 that condemned the pseudo-state. It even mandates the US Government to negotiate and settle property claims of Greek Cypriots directly with the occupiers and the settlers from Turkey.
Even worse, the Bill proposes a "settlement" through a "priority" provision that seeks to settle claims for "$25,000" or less. It is not clear whether $25,000 pertains to individuals or properties. In other words, the Bill considers approximately $675 per year for 37 years of occupation as adequate compensation! The effects of this Bill, intentional or not, are as dangerous as the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), where Greek Cypriots have been bottled for years in misery without compensation, eventually receiving trivial amounts of compensation. Finally, based on a U.S. Supreme Court precedent (Dames & Moore v. Regan), potentially the Bill can prohibit and suspend U.S. court litigation against the pseudo-state.
Astonishingly, while the U.S. class action of Greek Cypriot refugees had caused "alarm" for its falsely reported legitimization of the pseudo-state, this Bill that legislates diplomatic relations between the pseudo-state and the U.S. has yet to raise an eyebrow from the government of the ROC.
In conclusion, the Bill does not protect the properties and the rights of Greek Cypriots. Should this bill become law, it can and will be overturned in court. The Bill is constitutionally overboard as it equates the puppet pseudo-state with a government. The Bill should have condemned the pseudo-state, holding Turkey accountable, giving Greek Cypriots fair compensation for 37 years of occupation, protecting their right to return to their ancestral lands, protecting their rights to resort to U.S courts individually and collectively and placing a time limit on when claims must be paid. Otherwise, American Cypriots with property in the illegally occupied 36% of the territory of the ROC are facing the same unjust and egregious treatment some ill-advised Greek Cypriots faced, when they fell in the trap of the IPC, a Turkish Trojan Horse that steals property from Greek Cypriots, a necessary step towards the final division of Cyprus.
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+1(202) 464-9910 +1(202) 449-3499 ™ athan@tsimpedeslaw.com
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