Lawyers representing Turkey failed to show up Wednesday for a hearing at the European Court of Human Rights to examine a series of complaints lodged by Cyprus against Ankara.
It is the first time lawyers have failed to show in the 41-year-history of the European Court.
One diplomat described the move, which had been announced by a Turkish diplomat on Tuesday, as a "challenge".
"The Turkish government informed the court Wednesday morning of its absence," the Swiss president of the court, Luzius Wildhaber, told the hearing.
He decided that the hearing, which was attended by at least 10 lawyers representing Greek Cypriots and government advisors, should go ahead regardless of the absence of Turkish representatives.
"Given that no sufficient reason was given, the grand chamber has decided that the hearing will nevertheless go ahead," Wildhaber said.
In other cases concerning disputes on the divided island, Turkey has maintained that it is not the concerned party, instead pointing to the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state in the north -- the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) -- which is recognized only by Turkey.
In its complaint against Turkey, the internationally recognized government of Cyprus accuses Ankara of a string of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the torture and disappearance of almost 1,500 people and the forced displacement of more than 210,000 people.
It also alleges that Greek Cypriots in the north are denied emergency medical treatment, as well as the right to cross the border to vote in Greek Cypriot parliamentary elections.
The complaints also denounce a Turkish ban on Greek-language media in northern Cyprus, and claims that thousands of people had their belongings confiscated.
This is the fourth complaint filed against Turkey since it invaded northern Cyprus in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aiming to unite the island and Greece -- STRASBOURG (AFP)
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