[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 30 (Thursday, March 7, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1967-H1968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE SOVEREIGNTY OF IMIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Bilirakis] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, we are Americans, and this is the 
United States of America. Let us say one of our protectorates, if you 
will, Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, all of a sudden a claim was made 
upon them by country X. What would we do? Certainly I would like to 
think what we would not do is to decide to sit across the table with 
country X and negotiate the rights to those particular territories. It 
is ridiculous, because everyone knows, the entire world knows, the 
world community knows these territories are part of the United States 
of America, if you will.
  On December 25, as the gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Maloney] 
certainly has already shared with us, and she does such a great job at 
this, and it is such an honor really to be tied in with her in these 
special orders, on December 25, 1995, a Turkish cargo ship ran aground 
on Imia. The ship's captain refused assistance from the Greek Coast 
Guard because the captain said the islet was Turkish. Tensions began to 
mount and by January 29, 1996, both Greece and Turkey had dispatched 
naval vessels to the area. On January

[[Page H1968]]

31, through U.S. mediation, both sides agreed to withdraw.
  I am certainly thankful and I think the world is thankful that this 
incident did not lead to an armed confrontation. But I am disappointed 
that at no time during the United States mediation did the President, 
Secretary of State Christopher, Defense Secretary Perry or then 
Assistant Secretary of State Holbrook, who has generally done a 
wonderful job on this issue, at no time did they recognize the 
sovereignty of Greece over the islet.
  Is is my sincere hope this latest incident will not deter the 
administrations efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, but rather 
strengthen the administration's commitment to finding a solution this 
year of 1996.
  As you may know, and I do not suppose many people do, my parents were 
born on the island of Kalymnos, which I guess the rocks Simi are a part 
of that particular island chain, and only just a few miles away from 
the island of Kalymnos. The island has always been considered Greek 
territory. At no previous time has Turkey questioned Imia's territorial 
ownership. Indeed, Greek Foreign Minister Theodore Pangalos stated, 
``This is the first time that Turkey has actually laid claim to Greek 
territory.''
  The European parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution which 
states, ``The Islet of Imia belongs to the Dodecanese group of islands, 
on the basis of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, the protocol between Italy 
and Turkey of 1932, the Paris Treaty of 1947, and whereas even on 
Turkish maps from the 1960's the islets are shown as Greek territory.''
  Moreover, the Governments of Italy and France have publicly stated 
their support of Greek sovereignty over Imia, as provided by 
international law.
  So Madam Speaker, given Turkey's breaches of international law, its 
continued illegal, and I underline that, illegal occupation of Northern 
Cyprus, its restrictions on religious freedom from the Eastern Orthodox 
Ecumenical Patriarchate, which represents over 250 million Orthodox 
Christians worldwide, its refusal to recognize the human rights of its 
15 million Kurdish citizens, and its illegal blockade of Armenia, I 
have serious concerns about this most recent example of Turkish 
provocation.
  Although Turkey is an ally, Madam Speaker, its actions must not go 
unquestioned. In fact, European Commission President Jacques Santer 
stated in reference to Turkey, ``We cannot tolerate a state with which 
we have just entered into a customs union developing territorial 
demands on a European union member state.''
  Turkey must respect and abide by international law. As President 
Eisenhower once stated, ``There can be no peace without law. And there 
can be no law if were to invoke one code of international conduct for 
those who oppose us, and another for our friends.''
  Madam Speaker, I would say in closing, enough is enough.

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