[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  MISSING IN CYPRUS LEGISLATION PASSES

                                 ______


                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 1994

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the passage of 
H.R. 2826, legislation which calls upon the President to investigate 
the whereabouts of the missing from the Cyprus conflict of 1974. The 
total missing from that conflict is 1,619 and includes 5 American 
citizens. I am a proud cosponsor of the original House version of this 
legislation and commend Congress for passing this important resolution.
  In July of this year many of us commemorated the 20th anniversary of 
the illegal Turkish invasion and occupation of 37 percent of Cyprus. 
The greatest tragedy of that invasion are its 1,619 missing victims. 
Yet we must also acknowledge the shattered lives of their families and 
friends. For 20 years they have been waiting, hoping, and praying. 
Their pain deserves to be relieved and this resolution is a step in 
that direction.
  This bill calls for three things: An investigation into the 
whereabouts of the missing; a report to the families and to Congress on 
the results of that investigation, and; for the administration to do 
everything in its power to return the missing to their families and 
resolve these questions once and for all.
  The other body, in it deliberations on this bill, saw fit to amend 
the original House version. In my view, the original was the superior 
measure, calling as it did for an investigation into all of the 
missing. The bill as passed in its final version calls for a thorough 
investigation of the 5 missing Americans. It also directs the President 
to report on the fate of other missing Cypriots discovered during that 
investigation.
  Mr. Speaker, we must not let the world forget this tragedy by turning 
our backs on the people of Cyprus. Instead, we must press the Turkish 
Cypriot leadership, and their allies in Ankara, to release or account 
for the fate of these 1,619 persons. This bill will begin that process 
and I again commend Congress for its passage.

                          ____________________