[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 107 (Friday, July 27, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H4763-H4764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       27TH ANNIVERSARY OF TURKISH OCCUPATION OF NORTHERN CYPRUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kirk). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate an anniversary 
of human suffering, loss of life, and the usurpation of the basic 
rights of people and nations to live within secure borders. The 
anniversary I am referring to is that of the Turkish invasion and 
occupation of northern Cyprus 27 years ago. Some 6,000 Turkish troops 
and 40 tanks invaded the resource-rich north coast of Cyprus. In less 
than a month's time, more than one-third of the island was under 
Turkish control, displacing 200,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes.
  Today, 35,000 Turkish soldiers, armed with the latest weapons and 
supported by land and sea, are stationed in the occupied area, making 
it, according to the United Nations Secretary General, one of the most 
militarized regions in the world. At an estimated cost of $300 million 
annually, Turkey continues to defy the international community and the 
U.N. resolutions with its policies towards Cyprus.
  To date, more than 1,600 Greek Cypriots and four Americans remain 
unaccounted for, serving as a silent reminder of the unlawful invasion.
  Eighty-five thousand Turks have been brought over from Turkey to 
colonize the occupied area with the aim of changing the demography of 
the island and controlling the political situation. The Greek Cypriot 
community that remains enclaved within the occupied villages continues 
to live under conditions of oppression, harassment, and deprivation.
  Throughout the occupation, the U.N. has been trying to encourage a 
solution to the Cyprus problem. U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan has sponsored 
proximity talks between the President of Cyprus, Glafcos Clerides, and 
Rauf Denktash, the self-proclaimed leader of the occupied area. 
Unfortunately, those talks have been suspended due to Rauf Denktash's 
abrupt departure from the negotiating table.
  Turkey's military and financial backing provides a leverage for the 
Turkish Cypriot leadership in its unwillingness to make any 
compromises. In 2000, Turkey provided $195.5 million to the self-
proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to relieve budget 
deficits and a 3-year aid package to boost the economy.
  A sixth round of U.N.-mediated proximity talks did not convene in 
January, 2001, because Denktash refused to participate. The U.N. has 
said that Denktash has requested new talks not be scheduled. On May 29, 
2001, the Turkish National Security Council, which expresses the views 
of the powerful Turkish military, declared an agreement depends on 
``the acknowledgment of the sovereign equality of two states on the 
island.''
  Mr. Speaker, the United States has a national interest in fostering 
peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean region. We as a Nation 
cannot continue to pretend our NATO partner is not in clear violation 
of international law for its continued illegal occupation of its 
neighbor.
  Last year, the Turkish government announced it had awarded a $4 
billion contract for attack helicopters to an American company, Bell-
Textron. However, before the sale can take place, the Department of 
State must issue an export license, and its decision must take into 
account both foreign policy and human rights considerations.
  Sending attack helicopters to Turkey runs directly counter to 
American interests and values in the region and does not in any way 
foster peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean.
  Turkey has had a long record of using U.S.-supplied military 
equipment in direct violation of U.S. law. In 1974, Turkey employed 
U.S.-supplied aircraft and tanks in its invasion of northern Cyprus. 
Turkish forces continue to occupy today with the use of U.S.-supplied 
military equipment.
  For the past 16 years, Turkey has been illegally using American 
weaponry, especially attack helicopters, in a campaign against its 
Kurdish population and has threatened to use them against Greece and 
Cyprus as well.
  Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and even our own State 
Department have reported that Turkey has illegally used American attack 
helicopters in these attacks on the Kurds.
  In a judgment delivered at Strasbourg on May 10, 2001, in the case of 
Cyprus versus Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights of the Council 
of Europe found Turkey to be in violation of 14 articles of the 
European Convention on Human Rights.
  The 16-1 decision relating to the situation that exists in the 
occupied northern part of Cyprus since the 1974 Turkish invasion, found 
Turkey to be in violation of (Article 2) right to life; (Article 3) 
prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment; (Article 5) right to 
liberty and security; (Article 6) right to a fair trial; (Article 8) 
right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence; 
(Article 9) freedom of thought; (Article 10) freedom of expression; 
(Article 13) right to an effective remedy; (Article 1 of Protocol No. 
1) protection of property; and (Article 2 of Protocol No. 1) right to 
education.
  We in the United States pride ourselves for our respect for 
fundamental freedoms. Human rights norms are the cornerstone of U.S. 
foreign policy. It is time, Mr. Speaker, for the U.S. to use its 
considerable influence with Turkey to press Ankara to end its 27-year 
occupation of Cyprus.
  Why are we so accommodating toward a country whose military regularly 
intervenes in domestic politics; a country that refuses to come to 
terms with its history of genocide against the Armenians; a country 
that is in violation of international law in the Aegean Sea; a country 
that imprisons an

[[Page H4764]]

American citizen for allegedly conducting illegal prayer in a private 
home and insulting the secular regime; a country that has imprisoned 
four democratically elected Kurdish parliamentarians and a host of 
Turkish human rights activists and journalists; and a country that 
refuses to fully respect the rights and religious practices of its 
Christian communities?
  It is time to speak out against these violations. It is time for the 
United States to take the lead.

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