UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR ARMENIANS TO RECLAIM THEIR PROPERTIES IN TURKEY
By Harut Sassounian, The California Courier
Noyan Tapan
Au g 26, 2008
Armenian citizens of several Middle Eastern countries may have a
unique opportunity to reclaim their properties in Turkey without
hiring a lawyer or going to court.
A Turkish newspaper reported last week that the government of Turkey
has been negotiating with Syria, Iraq and Egypt over conflicting land
claims of those citizens who lost their properties after the collapse
of the Ottoman Empire.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan took up this long-standing issue during their recent
meeting in Turkey, but failed to come to a mutually acceptable
solution, according to an article by Ercan Yavuz in the August 23,
2008 issue of Today’s Zaman.
Turkey claims that its citizens own a total of 750,000 acres of land
in Syria, Iraq and Egypt. Turkish officials also claim that the Syrian
government confiscated lands belonging to citizens of Turkey. In a
reciprocal move, in 1966, Ankara confiscated the properties of Syrian
citizens living in Turkey. After lengthy negotiations, Turkey and Syria
signed a protocol in 1972 and created a joint commission to document
the disputed properties. "Turkish citizens hold 2,411 title deeds in
Syria, of which 2,108 are slated for evaluation by the commission,"
Today’s Zama n reported.
The commission reportedly confirmed that Turkish citizens own 2,534
real estate plots in Syria, involving 250,000 acres of land, 1,576
houses and 3,533,844 Syrian liras. Some of these deeds were rejected
by the Syrian government, while the status of more than 700 others
could not be resolved.
Syria also rejected 276 out of 987 submitted files; and 711 cases have
not yet been decided upon, according to Mr. Yavuz’s article. Syria
reportedly confirmed that Turkish citizens own about 250,000 acres of
land in Syria, while claiming that its citizens own an equal amount of
land in Turkey. Turkey, on the other hand, claimed that its citizens
own twice as much land in Syria.
Turkey has had a similar dispute with Iraq and Egypt. Iraq adopted a
law in 1961 restricting Turkish citizens to buying no more than one
house and one workplace. Iraq then ordered the sale or confiscation
of properties belonging to Turkish citizens, according to Today’s
Zaman. In 1985, Turkey and Iraq agreed to allow property owners in
their respective countries five years to file a claim. The due date
was subsequently extended twice. Turkey sent 87 files of land claims
to Iraq, 53 of which were reportedly accepted by Iraq. In all, Turkey
claimed that its citizens own in Iraq about 160,000 acres of land,
150 buildings, 11 charitable foundations, more than 2 million Iraqi
dinars and 8,000 pounds sterling. On the other hand, I raq claims
its citizens own 48 buildings and 11 plots of land in Turkey. The
American invasion of Iraq interrupted the settlement of these claims.
Turkey also signed an agreement with Egypt in 1982 to solve their
property disputes. According to Today’s Zaman, 1,590 files have
been submitted by Turkish citizens who claim property ownership in
Egypt. The Egyptian government has reportedly accepted 256 of these
files. In addition, Turkey claims that the Egyptian government,
agreeing that 31 charitable foundations in Egypt belong to citizens
of Turkey, paid more than ,000 to 72 Turkish citizens.
Leading Armenian organizations in Syria, Iraq and Egypt should contact
their respective government officials and verify the information
published by Today’s Zaman. If the Turkish report is accurate, these
organizations should urge Armenian citizens of their countries,
including those living overseas, to submit to them copies of their
property deeds or other documentary evidence of ownership. The
organizations would then pursue the inclusion of Armenian claims
in the negotiations being held by their respective governments with
Turkey, demanding either the return of Armenian-owned lands or fair
compensation for the lost properties.
The key advantage of this approach is that Armenians do not need
to hire lawyers and go to court, as the officials of the three Arab
countries, on behalf of their citizens, are negotiating directly with
their Turkish counterparts to settle such reciprocal claims.
This is a unique opportunity that Armenians need to take advantage
of immediately. Once the outstanding property ownership disputes are
settled, Armenian citizens of Syria, Iraq and Egypt may never again
have the opportunity to reclaim their properties located in Turkey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
