[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 111 (Thursday, July 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CYPRUS--22 YEARS OF DIVISION

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                               speech of

                         HON. DAVID FUNDERBURK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 23, 1996

  Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker, in the summer of 1974, 6,000 Turkish 
troops and 40 tanks formed the invasion force and occupied more than a 
third of the island of Cyprus. One of the tragedies of the Cyprus 
invasion is the missing persons. Since 1974, five Americans and 1,493 
Greek Cypriots and perhaps 803 Turk Cypriots are missing. To put the 
current tragedy into better perspective, I quote my good friend 
Congressman Michael Bilirakis--the Turkish force ``occupied almost 40 
percent of the island, representing 70 percent of the country's 
economic health.'' Cyprus is the only country in the world that is 
divided by a barbed wire fence--the Green Line. This barbed wire fence 
forcibly keeps more than 200,000 Greek Cypriots away from their 
traditional homes.
  There are no easy solutions to this thorny question. The presence of 
35,000 Turkish troops garrisoned in northern Cyprus makes it more 
difficult to resolve. Both Greece and Turkey are NATO allies of the 
United States. However, we must call for the cessation of all 
violations of human rights on the island of Cyprus.
  While some individuals may have great historical memory, on the 
whole, our collective memory is very short. Other than the Armenians, 
how many people remember what happened to the Armenians. Similarly, we 
must not forget what the Turks did in Cyprus. Before the term ethnic 
cleansing became popular and common usage in Bosnia, the Turkish army 
in Cyprus practiced it against the Greek Cypriots. The atrocities of 
the Turkish army were so notorious--wholesale and repeated rapes of 
women of all ages, systematic torture, savage and humiliating treatment 
of Greek Cypriots as well as extensive robbery and looting--that their 
approach caused thousands of Greek Cypriots to abandon their homes and 
take flight.
  In this context, a comprehensive proposal by Mr. Glafcos Clerides, 
the President of Cyprus, in December 1993, called for the complete 
demilitarization of the Republic of Cyprus. This would have the effect 
of breaking the vicious cycle of fear and mistrust and leading Cyprus 
into negotiated settlement by:
  1. Disbanding the Cyprus armed forces, the National Guard, and 
handing over its equipment to the U.N. forces in Cyprus;
  2. Establishing an enlarged U.N. peacekeeping force, funded by the 
Government of Cyprus;
  3. Creating a fund, under U.N. supervision for development projects 
benefiting both communities in Cyprus--as recommended by Andrew J. 
Jacovides, Ambassador of Cyprus to the United States to the Foreign 
Service Institute of U.S. Department of State, Feb. 6, 1996.
  It is hard to find a solution for the situation in Cyprus acceptable 
to all parties. For the United States our primary goal must be to seek 
an end to the injustice that has fallen on the people of Cyprus. We 
must see that justice for the Cypriots prevails in the end. Doing the 
right thing in this case means demanding an end to Turkish occupation 
on the island, putting in place a U.N. peacekeeping force, ensuring 
property restoration, and a full accounting of the missing persons. 
Nothing less will suffice.

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