[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H5040-H5041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE DEATH OF ANDREW KASSAPIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember a young man, an 
American citizen, who was murdered during a brutal Turkish invasion of 
Cyprus during the summer of 1974.
  Since the 1974 Cyprus invasion, 1,619 people have been missing, 
including five American citizens. The administration recently submitted 
the ``President's Report to Congress on the Investigation of the 
Whereabouts of the U.S. Citizens Missing from Cyprus Since 1974.'' It 
concludes that four of the missing Americans were probably killed 
during the violent events of 1974.
  It also confirms the belief that one American, Andrew Kassapis, was 
killed by Turkish-Cypriot militiamen and was buried in a field in 
Northern Cyprus. The report states that Andrew

[[Page H5041]]

``died from physical hardship stemming from captivity.'' His remains 
are being laid to rest tomorrow, Wednesday, June 24, in Detroit, 
Michigan.
  Twenty-four years after Andrew's death, Cyprus still remains 
illegally occupied and tensions continue to escalate in a region that 
is more often marked by strife than accord.

                              {time}  1800

  The United States has signaled its commitment to work for a fair 
solution to the illegal occupation of Cyprus. Unfortunately, our 
efforts have produced few results due to the reluctance of Turkish 
leaders to resolve the illegal occupation of Cyprus.
  Rauf Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriot leader of the illegally occupied 
area of Northern Cyprus, has set two preconditions for a Cyprus 
solution. First, he has demanded that his entity be recognized. The 
international community only recognizes the legitimate Republic of 
Cyprus and its leader, President Glafcos Clerides. Second, he said 
Cyprus's European Union accession talks must be halted before 
negotiations on Cyprus can resume.
  The United States and the international community have emphasized 
that both demands are unacceptable.
  Mr. Speaker, as we lay Andrew Kassapis to rest, it is disheartening 
that a Cyprus solution is as remote as ever. If we can broker peace in 
Northern Ireland, we can surely promote a solution in Cyprus. The 
consequences of our failure and of continued hostilities between Greece 
and Turkey over Cyprus could result in a weakening of the NATO alliance 
and the outbreak of military conflict between these two American 
allies.
  We owe it to Andrew and the other missing Americans to support the 
Cypriot Republic and demand that Turkey respect international law. His 
death should not be in vain and the solution of Cyprus must be 
forthcoming.

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