[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REGARDING THE PROPOSED PLAN TO REUNIFY CYPRUS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2004

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on 
Hellenic Issues, I rise to express my deep concerns with the final 
Annan plan to reunify Cyprus which will be voted on by both the Greek 
Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots on Saturday.
  I am very fortunate and privileged to represent Astoria, Queens--one 
of the largest and most vibrant communities of Greek and Cypriot 
Americans in this country. It is truly one of my greatest pleasures as 
a Member of Congress to participate in the life of this community, and 
the wonderful Cypriot friends that I have come to know are one of its 
greatest rewards.
  Along with these friends, I have been monitoring the negotiations to 
reunify Cyprus very closely during the past few months. On July 20, 
1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus, and to this day continues to maintain an 
estimated 35,000 heavily armed troops. Nearly 200,000 Greek Cypriots, 
who fell victim to a policy of ethnic cleansing, were forcibly evicted 
from their homes and became refugees in their own country.
  Despite the hardships and trauma caused by the ongoing Turkish 
occupation, Cyprus has registered remarkable economic growth, and the 
people living in the Government-controlled areas enjoy one of the 
world's highest standards of living. Sadly, the people living in the 
occupied area continue to be mired in poverty.
  Last month, 46 members of the Hellenic Caucus joined in a letter to 
Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to 
express their hope that any agreement to reunify Cyprus would 
explicitly recognize, among other provisions, property rights, the 
demilitarization of Cyprus, the establishment of the legal obligations 
of the guarantor powers (Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom), and 
the presence of United Nations troops throughout a transitional period.
  I also led a delegation of members of the Hellenic Caucus to meet 
with Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss the negotiations regarding 
the reunification of Cyprus before it enters the European Union on May 
1st. We expressed our support for the Secretary General's leadership in 
bringing the parties to the bargaining table, but expressed concerns 
regarding some of the issues that remained open: property rights, 
governance, free movement between Greek and Turkish areas of the 
island, and the pace of demilitarization of the island.
  We stressed the importance of having a central government that has 
the ability to make decisions, and we expressed concern about 
limitations on the ability of Cypriots to travel unimpeded to all areas 
of the island.
  Unfortunately, the negotiators were unable to reach a consensus, and 
Secretary General Annan was forced to step in to fill in the remaining 
gaps in the settlement. This final plan will now be voted on in two 
separate referenda by both the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots 
on Saturday, April 24.

  The Greek Cypriots, who have worked continuously to end the forcible 
division of the island through a viable and lasting settlement, have 
several valid and important concerns with this final plan, which may 
lead them to reject it.
  First, the Annan plan allows the indefinite presence of Turkish 
troops in Cyprus with a gradual decrease to 650 troops over a period of 
14 years. The presence of these troops will prevent the full and 
genuine independence of Cyprus.
  Next, while the plan allows the guarantor powers (Turkey, Greece, UK) 
to intervene unilaterally to preserve the ``constitutional order'' of 
the United Cyprus Republic and its constituent states, it neglects to 
clarify that the Treaty of Guarantee does not empower military 
intervention. This omission is troubling especially because Turkey 
believes that it still has the right to intervene militarily in Cyprus.
  Previous UN Security Council resolutions called for the withdrawal of 
all settlers from Cyprus that were brought from Turkey after 1974, 
since the colonization of occupied territories is a crime under 
international law. The final plan provides that 45,000 of the settlers 
will automatically become citizens of the United Cyprus Republic. It 
also allows a large number of additional settlers to remain in Cyprus 
as permanent residents and after four years to apply for Cypriot 
citizenship. As a result, the vast majority of approximately 115,000 
Turkish settlers, who are now illegally in Cyprus, could stay in 
Cyprus.
  Under the Annan plan, for the first 19 years or until Turkey's 
accession to the EU, the number of Greek Cypriots who wish to 
permanently live in the Turkish Cypriot Constituent State (TCCS) will 
not be able to exceed 18 percent of its total population. After that 
time, their number will be permanently restricted to not more than 33.3 
percent of the total population. Because the Greek Cypriots who will be 
permanently living in the TCCS will have its internal citizenship 
status, they will not have the right to participate in the elections 
for its 24 representatives in the federal Senate. Therefore, the plan 
establishes a system based on permanent ethnic division, while denying 
fundamental democratic rights to a segment of the population.
  Finally, according to the Annan plan, the one third of the 
compensation to legal owners (Greek Cypriot refugees), who will be 
losing their properties, shall be guaranteed by the Federal State. 
Because the Federal State's sources will derive from Greek Cypriots by 
nine tenths and only by one tenth from Turkish Cypriots, the Greek 
Cypriots will be compensating their own loss of property. Therefore, 
instead of Turkey, they will be paying for the results of the Turkish 
invasion of 1974.
  It is clear that divisions among people create harmful, destructive 
environments. I am disappointed that more progress was not made on 
these issues prior to the completion of the final plan. No matter what 
the Greek Cypriots decide on April 24, I will continue to support them 
in every way possible.

                          ____________________