Turkey sued in US courts by Cypriots (video) - Athan Tsimpedes

(with apologies that equipment failure at 30 minutes prevented recording the rest of this event)


Lobby for Cyprus Seminar


Greek and Greek Cypriot plaintiffs sue Turkey in US courts for return of their homes in Turkish occupied Cyprus


Speakers:


Athan T. Tsimpedes
Dr Klearchos Kyriakides
Nick Kounoupias
Costas Frangeskides


5 October 2010


Speaker Profiles


Athan T. Tsimpedes is a Greek-American attorney, founder of the Tsimpedes Law Firm, based in Washington DC. He has enjoyed success in a variety of practice areas including international and domestic litigation. Athan has appeared on numerous media and news outlets regarding cases ranging from representing clients against McDonald's to advocating the rights of displaced Cypriots. Athan is currently involved in Class Action litigation advocating rights of former security personnel in the US. In another case, Athan represents the Kurdish victims of the genocideal Anfal campaign, against Iraq.


In the realm of international complex litigation, Athan represented Ms Kirkham in the landmark case of Kirkham v Air France. Ms Kirkham was severly injured while travelling outside the US. Athan successfully litigated in favour of Ms Kirkham against France because of a transaction with Ms Kirkham which was commercial in nature and had a connection to the US.


The lawsuit Athan is pursuing against the pseudo-state in occupied Cyprus was filed in the same court where Ms Kirkham's case was won. The pseudo-state of the occupied territories of northern Cyprus is not recognised as a country by the US or any member of the United Nations, with the exception of Turkey. Yet it clandestinely markets itself in America by maintaining offices, hiring employees and contractors and advertising properties for sale in the occupied area. Therefore, its US enterprise deceptively described as an 'embassy' can be sued as a business entity in the US. In other words, what Air France was to France, the pseudo-state is to Turkey. The US courts would apply the precedent of Kirkham and similar principles in favour of displaced Cypriots worldwide.


The pseudo-state has committed fraud by selling property to unsuspecting buyers who believed they were purchasing property with clean legal title. Turkish and international banks facilitating such transactions are responsible for damages against displaced Cypriots and unsuspecting prospects that were duped into the fraudulent property scheme. For its involvement, the international banking congrlomerate HSBC and its various branches are also named defendants in the lawsuit.


See also the powerpoint presentation used by AthanTsimpedes, available at:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDdDL4R8tL0


Recently the international media including American, Greek, Cypriot , Turkish and American outlets reported that on behalf of a Cypriot organisation for displaced mothers and children, Athan successfully lobbied megastars like Rihana and Justin Timberlake not to perform in the pseudo-state. A simple Google search will verify Athan's proverbial 'long arm of the law'!


Dr. Klearchose Kyriakides is a senior lecturer and a non-practising solicitor at the School of Law of the University of Herfordshire in St. Albans, England. He holds an LLB Hons (Law and Politics) Degree from the University of Birmingham together with the MPhil and PhD (International Relations) Degrees from the University of Cambridge and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Westminister. He is a Member of The Law Society of England and Wales. Dr Kyriakides lectures in constitutional law and he is the author of numerous works on constitutional and legal themes, including on Cyprus.


Nick Kounoupias is deputy co-ordinator of Lobby for Cyprus. He is a partner in a UK top 100 law firm specialising in copyright, human rights and cultural property litigation.


Costas Frangeskides is a partner in the City law firm of Holman Fenwick Willan, specialising in international litigation and dispute resolution. He is a long standing member and deputy co-ordinator of Lobby for Cyprus.


Programme:


Introduction


Costas Frangekides chairs the panel


Keynote speaker: Athan K. Tsimpedes


Prominent US Attorney Athan Tsimpedes makes a presentation on the class action he is pursuing in the US Courts on behalf of US, Cypriot and Greek plaintiffs against Turkey and its illegal regime in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus for the return of their homes and for significant damages.
http://tsimpedeslaw.com




Conclusion
by Dr. Klearchos Kyriakides


Question and answer session
Chaired by Nick Kounoupias


Persons wishing to become involved in the Lobby for Cyprus campaign  see details below.


Lobby for Cyprus is a non-profit organisation that relies on volunteers and donations to carry outs its vital campaign work. If you would like to contribute in any way to the just cause please contact:


Lobby for Cyprus
POBox 692, Edgware, HA8 4LA
Tel: +44 (0)20 8888 2566
email: admin@lobbyforcyprus.org
http://www.lobbyforcyprus.org


Lobby for Cyprus is a non-party political organisation with the aim of reuniting Cyprus

Armenian Genocide debate - Kurds - Cyprus

Immediately below an embeddeed video of the entirety of the historic and much argued-over 'Armenian Genocide Debate' held in the Foreign Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives on 10th October 2007.



As Turkish PM Erdogan visited Washington 5th November for talks with George Bush, which he will no doubt would wish to emerge from with a Turko-American version of the strategic partnership agreement he signed with Britain last month, in exchange for not rocking the boat in Northern Iraq (over the Kurds), readers of this blog might wish to take a look at the video material at the two following profiles on YouTube, (which provide the source material for the videos below). The true historical nature of the Turkey which is such a good expedient partner for the US, and now a "Strategic Partner" for poodle Britain is shown. But, will the master of the poodle jump as high as the poodle at the urgings of the Turkish Prime Minister? This is the Turkey for whom Britain will strategise entry to the EU?


http://youtube.com/sakobb
The two playlists below DO NOT WORK but are included here anyway as 'placemarkers' to encourage viewers to visit the YouTube account (detailed immediately above) to view the material.

(a) Professor Taner Akcam talks about the Armenian genocide (watch all five parts).



(b) Germany Turkey and the Armenian Genocide - documentary (7 sections)



More material by Turkish archives-historian Taner Akcam, at:
http://www.youtube.com/LanguageSoup
(A talk on Taner Akcam's book "A Shameful Act", at the Human Rights faculty of Columbia University)

Also, I found the following video on FORA TV which goes over history which I must admit I did not know the details of, and I imagine many of us don't, so I make it available here for those who have a spare hour-and-a-half to follow it all. The period of history being talked about is the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, but it is just as relevant today, with events happening in Iraq and still now in the Balkans with Kosovo -- as well as Cyprus of course.

http://fora.tv/2007/10/18/A_Troubling_History_of_Ethnic_Conflict

Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Oct 18th, 2007

Historian Bruce Clark discusses the emergence of modern Greece and Turkey in the early 20th century. Leaders in both countries sought to advance a national ethnic identity, resulting in mass expulsions of Christian Greeks from Turkey and Muslims from Greece.

Below, a playlist from my own YouTube account with items from a variety of media sources, though mostly from Al-Jazeera English which has chosen to follow the Turkey-Kurds situation particularly closely, to show the developing 'attitude' in Turkey during and following the Armenian Genocide debate in the US House of Representatives early in October 2007.




Lastly, a playlist with items from recent Cyprus politics, providing a reaction in Cyprus to Britain's Gordon Brown having signed a "Strategic Partnership Agreement" with Turkey's Erdogan during the latter's visit to Downing Street in October 2007. Video clips of the press conference are included, with Erdogan referring at length to how it is the UN Security Council which has failed to endorse the Report about the Annan Plan process which is to blame for the lack of progress. During the press conference both Brown and Erdogan failed to refer to the Gambari Agreement in November 2006 which has been agreed by the UN Security Council as the 'way forward' .