62
CYPRUS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT
254. The Court finds therefore that there has been a violation of
Article 10 of the Convention in respect of Greek Cypriots living in northern
Cyprus in so far as school-books destined for use in their primary school
were subject, during the period under consideration, to excessive measures
of censorship.
6. Article 11 of the Convention
255. The applicant Government asserted that their complaint under this
head related to their claim that the Karpas Greek Cypriots were victims of
interferences with their right to freedom of assembly, in breach of Article 11
of the Convention, which provides:
“1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of
association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the
protection of his interests.
2. No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other than such as
are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of
national security or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the
protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of
others. This Article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the
exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces, of the police or of the
administration of the State.”
256. The applicant Government contended that the Commission had
failed to give due weight to the evidence of the respondent State's longstanding policy of impeding the enclaved population's right to take part in
organised or ad hoc gatherings. They maintained that the Commission
erroneously found that impediments to bi-communal meetings only
occurred as from the second half of 1996 and were thus outside the scope of
the case. The applicant Government argued that these impediments had in
fact been continuing since 1974 on account of the respondent State's general
and restrictive policy in the area of freedom of movement. They maintained
that their claim was borne out by the UN Secretary-General's observations
on the measures being implemented by the Turkish-Cypriot authorities in
respect of Greek Cypriots and Maronites located in the northern part of
Cyprus (UN document S/1995/1020, Annex IV, 30 November 1995). By
way of an example of restrictions on the right to freedom of assembly
during the period under consideration, the applicant Government observed
that the Turkish-Cypriot authorities, on 13 November 1994, refused
permission for a Greek singer to give a concert in the Karpas region.
257. The applicant Government further complained that the
administrative practice at issue also resulted in a violation of Article 8,
given that the Greek-Cypriot and Maronite populations were prevented from
freely foregathering, meeting or assembling either outside their villages in
the “TRNC” or by crossing the cease-fire line to the buffer-zone, or by
visiting the free area.