[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 30 (Thursday, March 7, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H1967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING OUTRAGE AND CONDEMNATION OF MURDEROUS TERRORIST ATTACKS IN 
                                 ISRAEL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Maloney] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, before we get to the substance of our 
special order, I want to express my outrage and condemnation for the 
wave of murderous terrorist attacks that have struck Israel in the last 
2 weeks.
  I extend my condolences to all the families of the victims, including 
the two American young people who had studied in New York City and were 
killed in Jerusalem.


                    conflict over the island of imia

  I want to thank my good friend from Florida, Mr. Bilirakis, for 
joining me in these special orders to bring attention to the recent 
conflict over the Island of Imia.
  The gentleman from Florida has always been a good friend of Greece 
and Cyprus, and it has been my great honor and pleasure to work closely 
with him on many issues of concern to Greek- and Cypriot-Americans.
  In fact, just this week, the gentleman and I announced the formation 
of the new Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues.
  As such, I know that Mr. Bilirakis shares my outrage over the recent 
comments of Mr. Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriot leader, who has admitted 
that many of the 1,619 Americans and Greek Cypriots who are missing 
from the Turkish invasion of 1974 were in fact murdered by Turkish 
forces.
  The fact that he waited 22 years to admit to these atrocities is 
itself a crime against humanity.
  As the gentleman knows, the families of several of the missing live 
in my district in Astoria. Mr. Denktash's admission points to the need 
for an accurate accounting for each and every one of the Americans and 
Cypriots whose plights are still unknown.
  Mr. Speaker, we could talk about this tragedy all evening, but we 
rise tonight to discuss a different outrage--the conflict in the 
Aegean.
  For those Members who may not know, the island of Imia is one of the 
Dodecanese islands that were formally returned to Greece by Italy as 
part of the 1947 Paris Agreement.
  It has been Greek for almost 4,000 years.
  Last Christmas, a Turkish cargo boat ran aground near Imia.
  Even though the accident occurred in Greek territorial waters, the 
captain of the cargo boat refused assistance from Greek authorities, 
claiming he was in Turkish waters.
  The incident escalated swiftly.
  The Greek mayor of the nearby island Kalolimnos rightfully put a 
Greek flag on Imia, which was then torn down and replaced by a Turkish 
flag by so-called Turkish journalists.
  Troops and ships from both Greece and Turkey quickly came to the area 
and a major confrontation developed.
  Only through the swift intervention of the United States was violence 
avoided.
  President Clinton deserves enormous credit for working hard to 
diffuse this dispute.
  However, Turkey's challenge of established international boundaries 
in an attempt to expand its Aegean borders is totally unacceptable.
  This confrontation over Imia would never have happened if Turkey 
abided by international law.
  The real issue here is not the status of a small, uninhabited islet 
in the Aegean.
  Rather it is the much more fundamental one of a challenge to Greek 
sovereignty.
  Greek sovereignty over Imia is well established and, until this 
incident, unchallenged by anyone, including Turkey.
  In 1932 Italy and Turkey concluded an agreement clearly stating that 
the Greek island of Imia belonged to Italy.
  At the conclusion of World War II, Italy ceded the Dodecanese 
islands--including Imia--back to Greece with the Paris Peace Treaty of 
1947.
  By international law, the successor state automatically assumes all 
rights and obligations established by international treaty.
  But Turkey has challenged the international status quo in order to 
create a destabilizing situation in the Aegean.
  Violations of international law are, unfortunately, nothing new for 
Turkey.
  The list includes: massive human rights violations against the Kurds; 
the illegal 1974 invasion and occupation of Cyprus; the blockade of 
Armenia, which prevented United States humanitarian assistance from 
reaching that country; and religious restrictions for the Eastern 
Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.
  Clearly, Turkey is the main cause of instability in the eastern 
Mediterranean.
  Last June, the United States House of Representatives sent a clear 
signal to Turkey that we find these actions unacceptable by voting to 
cut aid to Turkey by 25 percent.
  Turkey must be made to pay a real price for defying the will of the 
international community.
  If Turkey continues to ignore this message, our sanctions should only 
increase.
  Turkey must understand that future actions of this kind will bring 
about an even greater reduction in United States aid.
  Maybe Turkey will then realize that there are serious consequences 
for its behavior.
  Once again, I thank the gentleman from Florida for joining me on the 
House floor this evening.

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