[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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