[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           AFTER TWENTY YEARS, TIME FOR UNIFICATION OF CYPRUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Lowey] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will end the 20th year of illegal 
Turkish occupation of Cyprus; the 20th year of this island nation's 
division by force of arms. For 200,000 displaced Greek Cypriots, it 
marks the 20th year as refugees in their own country; and for the 
families and friends of 1,614 Greek Cypriots and 5 American citizens, 
it ends yet another year of searching for abducted loved ones still 
unaccounted for. We hope that it may be the last; 20 years is enough.
  The status quo cannot stand. The Green Line of Cyprus's division is a 
bloody stain on the face of a Europe working toward unification. It 
signifies not only a nation divided, but families torn apart and 
friends separated from friends. The responsibility for this tragedy 
falls squarely on the Turkish invaders. As United Nations General 
Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghali concluded, it is the Turks' ``lack of 
political will'' that has stalled all settlement talks.
  The United Nations has proposed a series of confidence building 
measures as steps toward demilitarization and peace on the island. The 
Greek Cypriots have accepted the measures, despite problems with 
particular provisions, but the Turkish side has stubbornly refused to 
make any concessions. Rather than establishing their interests as part 
of the legitimate government of a bicommunal Federal Republic, the 
Turkish Cypriots have claimed irrationally that the region Turkey 
occupies by force is a sovereign state.
  As Cyprus, President Glafcos Clerides has said, ``Cyprus has every 
potential to be a model of success and a source of hope.'' But 
reconciliation must begin with a full accounting for the 1,614 missing 
Cypriots and the five missing Americans. In our continuing endeavor to 
resolve ethnic conflicts, we cannot tolerate the invasion by armed 
force and program of ethnic cleansing that Turkey has employed. 
Instead, we commend the Greek Cypriots for their tireless quest toward 
a free and equitable reunification. We join the Cypriot people in 
rejection of Turkey's invasion and we condemn the illegal occupation. 
Turkey must be made to recognize that aggression will not be rewarded. 
Its occupation will not be recognized.
  As a champion of democratic freedoms worldwide, the American people 
have always supported the Cypriots' cause. The end of the cold war has 
pushed human rights to the forefront of the international conscience. 
We must ensure that the new world order is one of justice and peace. 
Twenty years is long enough.
  Mr. Speaker, let us hope that next year, the fathers and the sisters 
and the brothers and all the families who have suffered for far too 
long can put an end to this injustice, and we can work together for 
peace and fairness and human rights in this part of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, 20 years is long enough. Too many have died or been lost 
while the people of Cyprus have been under the yoke of foreign 
invaders. We in the Congress have a responsibility to act. We must 
demand the end of the illegal occupation and the restoration of full 
sovereignty to Cyprus. On this 20th anniversary, I pledge that I will 
do all in my power to end the agony and to return to Cyprus the freedom 
it deserves.

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