Özersay: “No Unified Parliamentary Decision on Greek Cypriot Arrest Warrants in Property Disputes”

Speaking via social media, Özersay pointed out that no concrete decision has been taken in a year and a half, despite mounting pressure and repeated warnings.

Recalling his call two months ago for an emergency closed session of parliament to issue a joint statement, Özersay said it was essential for lawmakers to declare: “There is a political problem here, and we find these arrests unacceptable.”

He expressed disappointment that even after political party leaders recently met with President Ersin Tatar ahead of the holiday period, they failed to agree on a single sentence concerning the issue. Özersay also noted that the closed parliamentary session held yesterday once again ended without any substantive outcome.

Highlighting the case of a Turkish Cypriot lawyer who was detained in Italy over a year and a half ago following a Greek Cypriot arrest warrant, Özersay criticised the legislature’s continued inaction. “Since that arrest, there hasn’t even been an extraordinary meeting or a serious initiative for a decision,” he said.

Describing the arrest warrants as detrimental to intercommunal relations, Özersay added, “These detentions create a toxic atmosphere between the two sides and must come to an end.”

He also criticised the plan to form an ad hoc parliamentary committee to address the matter, questioning its timing: “Parliament will go on recess in a week—will this committee merely serve as a propaganda platform?”

Concluding with frustration over the delays and lack of urgency, Özersay said, “Parliament will be in recess for three months and now there’s a new war; the context has changed. In short, we’re too late—too little, too slow.”