[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3491-S3492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 247--RELATIVE TO IMIA ISLET
Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Ms. Mikulski) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 247
Whereas Greece and Turkey are engaged in a dispute over
sovereignty to an islet in the Aegean Sea called Imia by
Greece and Kardak by Turkey:
Whereas the islet is a dependent of the Island of Calimnos,
an island in the Dodecanese region of the Aegean Sea:
Whereas in Article 15 of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey,
and other Instruments, signed at Lausanne on July 24, 1923,
Turkey renounced in favor of Italy all right and title of
Turkey over 12 islands in the Dodecanese region that were
occupied at the time of the Treaty by Italy, including the
Island of Calimnos, and the islets dependent on such islands;
Whereas the Convention Between Italy and Turkey for the
Delimitation of the Territorial Waters Between the Coasts of
Anatolia and the Island of Castellorizio, signed at Ankara on
January 4, 1932, established the rights of Italy and Turkey
in coastal islands, waters, and rocks in the Aegean Sea and
delimited a maritime frontier between the two countries:
Whereas a Protocol to that Convention established a border
between Italy and Turkey which placed the islet under the
control of Italy;
Whereas in Article 14 of the 1947 Treaty of Peace with
Italy, Italy ceded to Greece the Island of Calimnos and
adjacent islets;
Whereas the Eastern Mediterranean region, in which the
Aegean Sea is located, is a region of vital strategic
importance to the United States;
Whereas both Greece and Turkey are members of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization and allies of the United States;
[[Page S3492]]
Whereas it is in the interest of the United States and
other nations to have the dispute resolved peacefully; and
Whereas the International Court of Justice in The Hague was
established to promote the peaceful resolution of
international disputes in conformity with international law:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the
Government of Greece and the Government of Turkey should--
(1) submit to the International Court of Justice in The
Hague the dispute of such governments over sovereignty to the
islet in the Aegean Sea called Imia by Greece and Kardak by
Turkey; and
(2) agree to be bound by the decision of the Court with
respect to the dispute.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, for thousands of years, the Aegean Sea,
and the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, has been a critical
geopolitical region. I believe it is in the national interest of the
United States to have the countries in this region resolve their
disputes peacefully. As former Assistant Secretary of State Richard
Holbrook recently noted, ``you cannot have the southern flank of NATO
in constant tension without having strategic instability, which will
ultimately wreck NATO.''
Unfortunately, Greece and Turkey--both members of NATO, and both
allies of the United States--have been locked in bitter conflict for
many hundreds of years. The case of Cyprus is a tragic recent example.
I am concerned that in such a climate of hostility, relatively minor
disputes could erupt into major conflict. It could be a war which would
spread to that area.
The most recent manifestation of tension between Greece and Turkey
centers on Imia and other islets in the Aegean. The sovereignty
questions are quite complex, and involve treaties and other agreements
signed after World War I and World War II, including the Paris Peace
Treaty of 1947, the Italo-Turkish Agreement of 1932, and the 1923
Lausanne Peace Treaty. Simply put, each nation claims the islet of
Imia, called Kardak by Turkey, as part of its national territory.
However, I believe that this dispute should be resolved in the
International Court of Justice [ICJ] at The Hague. The ICJ was
established to promote the peaceful resolution of international
disputes in conformity with international law. The dispute over the
islet of Imia is, in my judgment, an ideal candidate for adjudication
by The Hague.
It is for that reason I am submitting this sense of the Senate
resolution, which calls upon Greece and Turkey to submit their dispute
to the ICJ, and agree to be bound by the decision of the court. The
Eastern Mediterranean is a region of critical importance. I believe
that it is essential to resolve conflict peacefully, and to work with
the countries of the region to resolve key issues in a way that is
consistent with the rule of law. This resolution, in my judgment, is a
critical first step in ensuring that relatively minor conflicts do not
escalate into major ones.
Mr. President, I will read the resolve clause of the resolution:
That it is the sense of the Senate that the Government of
Greece and the Government of Turkey should--
(1) submit to the International Court of Justice in The
Hague the dispute of such governments over sovereignty to the
islet in the Aegean Sea called Imia by Greece and Kardak by
Turkey; and
(2) agree to be bound by the decision of the Court with
respect to that dispute.
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