[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 263 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 263

Condemning Turkey for its illegal occupation of Cyprus and encouraging 
  President Biden to make the resolution of the Cyprus problem a top 
                        foreign policy priority.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 28, 2023

Ms. Malliotakis (for herself, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Pappas, and Ms. Titus) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning Turkey for its illegal occupation of Cyprus and encouraging 
  President Biden to make the resolution of the Cyprus problem a top 
                        foreign policy priority.

Whereas Turkey has been a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member since 
        1952 and is thus a treaty ally of the United States;
Whereas modern Turkey was founded upon the principles of republicanism and 
        laicite;
Whereas Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the authoritarian leader of 
        Turkey since 2003, has grounded his decision making in an extremist form 
        of religio-nationalism;
Whereas, under President Erdogan, Turkey seeks to establish itself as the 
        hegemon of the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Caucuses, 
        and as a result has taken provocative actions toward NATO allies, the 
        European Union, and the broader region;
Whereas President Erdogan's expansionist political ideology necessitates 
        aggression toward Cyprus;
Whereas the Government of Turkey ordered its military to invade the Republic of 
        Cyprus in 1974 in violation of the Treaty of Establishment, the Treaty 
        of Alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty, and the Treaty of Guarantee, 
        which established the Republic of Cyprus and guaranteed the independence 
        of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as the United Nations Charter and 
        customary international law;
Whereas the Government of Turkey has tolerated or abetted the desecration of 
        more than 500 Orthodox Christian churches and religious sites in the 
        territory of the Republic of Cyprus that the Turkish military occupies;
Whereas the Government of Turkey has brought in over 200,000 illegal settlers 
        into the occupied area of Cyprus to change the sociopolitical and 
        demographic fabric of the area, in violation of the Geneva Conventions;
Whereas Turkey is a member state of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR);
Whereas the ECHR has issued decisions and judgments in which the Court confirms 
        that persons, including United States citizens, who hold title to real 
        property located in the area of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by the 
        Turkish military are the only rightful owners of that real property, but 
        Turkey has refused to comply with the ECHR judgment;
Whereas, despite having agreed to do so, the Government of Turkey has failed to 
        support international efforts to find and identify the remains of 
        persons, including four United States citizens who remain missing since 
        the Turkish invasion of the Republic of Cyprus in 1974;
Whereas Turkey illegally violates the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone;
Whereas President Erdogan has illegally reopened the beach in Varosha, a once-
        thriving tourist town which the Turkish military ethnically cleansed of 
        its Greek Cypriot population in 1974;
Whereas President Erdogan has openly called for a ``two-state'' solution 
        regarding Cyprus, in violation of United Nations resolutions, 
        international law, and the position of the United States Government, 
        which is that a Cyprus solution should be within the framework of a 
        bizonal, bicommunal federation; and
Whereas, in a January 27, 1989, letter to a prominent Greek-American leader from 
        Delaware, Dr. Dean Lomis, then-Senator Biden stated: ``. . . we must 
        urge the new Administration [President George H.W. Bush] to make Cyprus 
        a higher policy priority in American foreign policy . . . we cannot lose 
        sight of the fact that the rights of Greek Cypriots have been trampled 
        upon, and we must ensure that their claims to ancestral land and 
        property seized during the 1974 invasion are not compromised. Finally, 
        we must send a signal to Turkey that until it has removed every last 
        soldier from Cyprus, it will never be recognized as a full member of the 
        international community.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) strongly condemns Turkey's continued occupation of 
        Cyprus, and calls upon Turkey to immediately withdraw all of 
        its estimated 35,000 occupying troops from the island;
            (2) calls upon Turkey to adhere to the democratic 
        principles and mission of the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization;
            (3) reiterates that the settlement of the Cyprus problem 
        needs to be based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation in a 
        State with single sovereignty and international personality, 
        and that this entity should embrace constitutional democratic 
        norms and American principles, the European Union (EU) acquis 
        Communautaire and EU Founding Treaty, United Nations 
        resolutions on Cyprus, and pertinent decisions of the European 
        Court of Human Rights and other European courts;
            (4) calls on Turkey to cease and desist from its illegal 
        interference in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone;
            (5) calls on the Turkish Government to provide avenues for 
        American citizens to seek financial remedies or restitution for 
        their property losses in the Turkish-occupied territory of 
        Cyprus;
            (6) demands Turkey's cooperation in helping recover the 
        four American citizens who are still missing as a result of the 
        1974 invasion of Cyprus;
            (7) calls on Turkey to remove its over 200,000 illegal 
        settlers from Turkish-occupied Cyprus and assist in 
        repatriating Greek-Cypriot refugees to their ancestral homes; 
        and
            (8) encourages President Biden to make the resolution of 
        the Cyprus problem a top foreign policy priority for his 
        Administration, a position that President Biden has held for 
        decades.
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