[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           CYPRUS PEACE TALKS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 12, 1999

  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate President 
Clinton and Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on the significant 
progress made on the subject of Cyrpus during their recent talks in 
Washington.
  I have always felt that Cyprus presents an exceptional opportunity 
for the United States to facilitate a successful solution because a 
settlement on this island is within reach. Cyprus is small in size and 
population, has clearly discreet borders as an island nation, and the 
international community is committed to the removal of Turkish forces 
and return of Cypriot sovereignty. Many United Nations and United 
States Congressional resolutions have been passed over the years 
expressing the internal community's and United States' commitment to a 
just and peaceful resolution to this conflict. Failure to secure a 
solution in Cyprus would undermine international law and UN 
resolutions, as well as contradicting official U.S. foreign policy, and 
our national interest in deterring aggressor states.
  Failure to solve this problem also bolsters the false notion that 
ethnic conflicts are unsolvable and that their use as a pretext for 
international aggression is acceptable. However, over the past decade 
in Northern Ireland, in the Middle East, and in the former Yugoslavia, 
have proven that the international community, led by the United States, 
can and should negotiate and work for peace and an end to ethnic 
division and conflict.
  Late last year, I urged President Clinton to get personally involved 
in resolving the Cyprus conflict by sending a special envoy, as he did 
in the Middle East and Northern Ireland. This past summer, I also asked 
the new Turkish Prime Minister to accept such an offer. I am extremely 
gratified by recent reports that these events have indeed taken place.
  During their recent talks in Washington, Prime Minister Ecevit 
accepted President Clinton's offer to dispatch a special envoy to work 
toward a settlement of this quarter-century-old dispute. Indeed, 
special envoy Al Moses has already been appointed and soon will be 
beginning his work in this troubled region.
  Again, I applaud the leadership of both President Clinton and Prime 
Minister Ecevit. The time has come for all efforts to be dedicated to 
resolving the abhorrent injustice of the division of Cyprus. We must 
all now redouble our efforts to bring peace and justice to the 
Mediterranean.

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