[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 36 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 36

   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding Turkey's claim of 
 sovereignty to the islets in the Aegean Sea called Imia by Greece and 
                           Kardak by Turkey.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 23, 1999

Mr. Pallone (for himself, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Bilirakis, Ms. 
  Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Sherman, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Kennedy of 
Rhode Island, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Blagojevich, 
Mr. Evans, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Ackerman, and Mr. Menendez) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding Turkey's claim of 
 sovereignty to the islets in the Aegean Sea called Imia by Greece and 
                           Kardak by Turkey.

Whereas Turkey is claiming sovereignty to the islets in the Aegean Sea called 
        Imia by Greece and Kardak by Turkey;
Whereas Greece asserts that as the successor state to Italy of sovereignty over 
        the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea, the islets of Imia are 
        sovereign Greek territory under the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, the 1932 
        Italy-Turkey Convention, the 1932 Italy-Turkey Protocol, the 1947 Paris 
        Peace Treaty, and international law;
Whereas the islets are dependents of the Island of Calimnos, an island in the 
        Dodecanese region of the Aegean Sea;
Whereas in Article 15 of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey, and Other Instruments, 
        signed at Lausanne on July 24, 1923, Turkey renounced in favor of Italy 
        all right, title, and interest of Turkey in the 12 enumerated islands in 
        the Dodecanese region that were occupied at the time of the treaty by 
        Italy, including the Island of Calimnos, and the islets dependent on 
        such islands;
Whereas the Convention Between Italy and Turkey for the Delimitation of the 
        Territorial Waters Between the Coasts of Anatolia and the Island of 
        Castellorizio, signed at Ankara on January 4, 1932, established the 
        rights of Italy and Turkey in coastal islands, waters, and rocks in the 
        Aegean Sea and delimited a maritime frontier between the two countries;
Whereas a protocol dated December 28, 1932, annexed to that Convention 
        memorialized an agreement on a water boundary between Italy and Turkey 
        which placed the islets of Imia under the sovereignty of Italy;
Whereas in Article 14 of the 1947 Paris Treaty of Peace with Italy, Italy ceded 
        to Greece the Dodecanese Islands under Italy's control, including the 
        Island of Calimnos and the adjacent islets of Imia;
Whereas by resolution dated February 15, 1996, the European Parliament resolved 
        that the water boundaries established in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 
        and the 1932 Convention Between Italy and Turkey, including the protocol 
        annexed to such Convention, are the borders between Greece and Turkey;
Whereas a fundamental principle of international law is that, once agreed, a 
        boundary shall remain stable and predictable;
Whereas both Greece and Turkey are members of the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO) and allies of the United States;
Whereas it is in the interest of the United States and other nations to have 
        disputes resolved peacefully; and
Whereas the Eastern Mediterranean region, in which the Aegean Sea is located, is 
        a region of vital strategic importance to the United States: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the islets of Imia in the Aegean Sea are sovereign 
        territory of Greece under international law; and
            (2) Turkey should agree to bring this matter before the 
        International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, for a 
        resolution.
                                 <all>