[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1301-E1302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO JOAQUIN ``JACK'' LUJAN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 17, 1996

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, with respect and great admiration, I 
would like to commend Joaquin ``Jack'' Lujan for his outstanding skill 
of blacksmithing which has become an important link to Guam's past. 
This unique island art legacy has made him a recipient to the 1996 
National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor in folk and traditional 
arts.
  Jack, also know as ``Kin Bitud,'' was the only one of his brothers to 
learn his father's skills. He mastered the graceful lines and fine 
finishes of the short Guamanian machete with inlaid buffalo horn or 
imported Philippine hardwood handles. On the basic tools that he 
fashioned, he hammered in the roots of the Chamorro culture into the 
future. This includes the fusinos, or thrust hoe which is unique to the 
Marianas, and the kamyu or coconut grater.
  Blacksmithing was not only an art tradition but played an essential 
role to the livelihood of Guam's farming community in pre-World War II 
and post era. People needed tools to aid them during work. Despite this 
time-consuming work and its diminishing economic incentive today, Jack 
continues to handforge tools as a heritage bloodline.
  Jack worked as a welder before World War II and as a U.S. immigration 
officer after the war. Clearly seeing the value of his blacksmithing 
tradition to the future of his community and his culture, he once again 
took up blacksmithing and in 1985, he taught three apprentices, all 
members of the Guam Fire Department. He has demonstrated his craft at 
festivals, at schools, and at other public events. He also has shared 
this heritage with people across oceans in Australia, Taiwan, and 
mainland United States.
  Jack Lugan has received numerous tributes, including the annual 
Governor's Art Award, as well as the Governor's Lifetime Cultural 
Achievement Award in 1996. The Consortium of Pacific Arts and Cultures 
honored him by including his work in their American-Pacific crafts 
exhibition, ``Living Traditions.'' I believe that the greatest award he 
has received in his lifetime is the vision of a flourishing tradition 
of blacksmithing still present in the island of Guam. We are very proud 
of this blacksmith who has helped iron-cast the culture of the Chamorro 
people on the hands of the new and future generations.

[[Page E1302]]



               22D ANNIVERSARY OF THE INVASION OF CYPRUS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. WILLIAM J. COYNE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 17, 1996

  Mr. COYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 22d 
anniversary of the invasion of Cyprus by Turkish military forces.
  This illegal invasion has been roundly condemned by the international 
community for the last 22 years. And yet, for the last 22 years, the 
Turkish Cypriot minority under Rauf Dentkash has refused to negotiate 
in good faith or to alter its goal of permanently partitioning the 
island. Today, 22 years later, 30,000 Turkish troops still occupy the 
northern third of Cyprus.
  Since 1974, the United Nations has attempted to resolve the conflict 
and reunify the island as an independent state under a single central 
government. The Turkish Cypriots have consistently rejected such a 
solution, insisting instead on an independent sovereign Cypriot state 
in the northern third of the island. The United Nations has 
consistently recognized the Greek Cypriot Government in Nicosia as the 
only legitimate Cypriot Government. Turkey is the only country that 
recognizes the Turkish Cypriot Government as a sovereign state.
  The United Nations has repeatedly attempted to mediate an agreement 
between the interested parties, but recalcitrance on the part of the 
Turkish Cypriots and their supporters in Turkey has thwarted any 
notable progress. Just last month, the U.N. Security Council extended 
the mandate of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus [UNFICYP] again 
and reiterated its concern that negotiations have dragged on for too 
long without resolution. And yet, today, the Turkish Cypriots still 
obstinately refuse to comply with the U.N. Security Council resolutions 
addressing Cyprus, and 30,000 Turkish troops still occupy military 
positions in northern Cyprus.
  In 22 years, tensions on the divided island have not dropped 
appreciably. The Green line--the U.N.-supervised zone separating 
northern Cyprus from the rest of the island--is one of the most heavily 
militarized areas in the world. As recently as last month, a Turkish 
Cypriot soldier shot and killed a Greek Cypriot guardsman in the zone.
  Last month, the Clinton administration initiated another attempt to 
resolve the conflict over the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus by 
sending Special Presidential Emissary Richard Beattie to the region. 
While domestic turmoil in Turkey suggests that the prospects for a 
breakthrough are slim, the need to address the recent increase in 
tension between Greece and Turkey provides a compelling reason to make 
the effort. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the Turkish Cypriots will 
show no flexibility in their position until the Turkish Government--and 
the Turkish military in particular--decides that the cost of 
maintaining the military occupation of northern Cyprus is unacceptably 
high. Facilitating such a decision must be the goal of the world 
community.
  It is my belief that the international community can compel Turkey to 
remove its occupation troops by actions like denying Turkey membership 
in the European Union until it takes such action. Such an approach is 
entirely appropriate. The European Union has every right to withhold 
economic privileges from a state that maintains a military occupation 
of another European country. The question is whether such action alone 
will suffice, or whether other economic incentives like cuts in United 
States aid to Turkey are necessary as well. Finally, I hope that the 
United States special emissary, Mr. Beattie, will strongly emphasize to 
the Turkish Government that the United States' patience on this matter 
has worn thin.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of Cyprus have suffered long enough.

                          ____________________