[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      AMERICANS MISSING IN CYPRUS

  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the recent 
passage of S. 1329, the Missing in Cyprus bill. This important 
legislation will take a critical step forward in investigating the 
disapperance of the five Americans who have been missing since the 
illegal Turkish occupation of Cyprus in the summer of 1974. The 
establishment of an independent investigative commission will help 
ascertain the fate of those missing Americans. Their families hopefully 
will receive a long overdue accounting of their loved ones. It is 
doubtful that the personal wounds caused by this brutal conflict can 
ever be healed, but this bill is a step in the right direction. In 
addition, the same type of investigation needs to be undertaken to 
establish the whereabouts of the 1,614 Greek-Cypriots still missing 
since 1974.
  The United Nations Commission on the Missing in Cyprus has reached no 
conclusion as to the whereabouts of the missing Americans and Greek-
Cypriots. The past 20 years have yielded no viable resolution of this 
matter. S. 1329 directs the U.S. State Department and the appropriate 
international organizations to investigate and determine the fate of 
these missing individuals. It is time we knew the truth about the 
atrocities committed by the Turkish military in 1974 and the subsequent 
coverup by the Turkish Government.
  I have introduced legislation, S. 2300, which would provide a strong 
incentive for the Turkish Government to comply with S. 1329. My bill 
would eliminate all United States military and economic assistance to 
Turkey until the five missing Americans and 1,614 Greek-Cypriots have 
been accounted for, released, and returned home. I ask my colleagues to 
consider my bill as a complement to S. 1329 in solving this important 
issue.
  After a decade of unproductive dialog, the United States should 
reexamine its policy toward Turkey. The Government of Turkey keeps very 
precise records on all prisoners, both criminal and political. For that 
reason, it should not be difficult for the Government of Turkey to 
provide an accounting of the missing persons. Adherence to basic 
principles of human rights should continue to be a fundamental pillar 
of U.S. foreign policy. S. 1329, along with my bill, will provide a 
framework to end the trail of tears caused by this illegal occupation.

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