[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1450-E1451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAINTAINING THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE ON CYPRUS
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HON. DAN BURTON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, today on the tiny Mediterranean
island of Cyprus,
[[Page E1451]]
Turkish and Greek Cypriots mark the anniversary of momentous events
that have shaped the last 30 years of the island's history. The events
of July 1974 have been the subject of much debate, controversy, and
unfortunately, distortion. The United States has worked long and hard
to help bring peace to Cyprus, and as both sides of this divided island
struggle to achieve a stable and prosperous future for all Cypriots, it
is important for this House to put history in its proper perspective,
to separate fact from propaganda, and to create a fair and balanced
understanding of the issues that divide the island's two constituent
peoples (the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots.
It is easy to assume that the history of the Cyprus conflict starts
in 1974, but this is far from the truth. The origins of the Cyprus
conflict can be traced back to the Greek Cypriot drive for Union with
Greece (enosis), a movement with roots that can be traced as far back
as the later days of the Ottoman Empire. The modern history of the
conflict, however, stems from the 1950s and 1960s.
From 1878 to 1960, Cyprus was ruled by the British. When the island
achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, it was with
constitutional guarantees for power sharing on the basis of political
equality. The constitution foresaw (and still foresees) a bi-communal
structure, and the peaceful co-existence of Greek and Turkish
communities side by side. The president was to be Greek, and the vice-
president to be from the Turkish community, each with the power of
veto.
Unfortunately, differences in language, culture, religion, and
national traditions, ended this vision by late 1963 when a political
crisis and inter-communal violence broke out. In November 1963,
Makarios, the first president of Cyprus--a Greek Cypriot--submitted a
plan aimed at amending the constitution. However, the changes proposed
removed most of the checks and balances which had been built into the
constitution to ensure the safety and equal status of the Turkish
community.
Matters came to a head on in December of that year, when armed Greeks
attacked a suburb in Nicosia, killing or capturing those Turkish
Cypriots who were unable to escape. Armed conflict spread, with the
Turkish Cypriots withdrawing into enclaves to defend themselves. A
buffer zone was set up and manned by British troops in a largely
unsuccessful attempt to stop the fighting. These were later replaced by
United Nations troops in March 1964, troops which are still there to
this day. For the next ten years, the enosis campaign of the Greek
Cypriots cost the Turkish Cypriots many lives and untold suffering, as
well as their partnership position in the Cyprus government.
Former United States Undersecretary of State, George Ball, who, among
others, as actively dealing with the crisis at the time, remarked in
his memoirs entitled The Past Has Another Pattern, that Makarios has
turned: ``This beautiful little island into his private abattoir'' (P.
341). Ball went on further to say that: ``Makarios'' central interest
was to block off Turkish intervention so that he and his Greek Cypriots
could go on happily massacring the Turkish Cypriots'' (p. 345).
For example, in March 1964, well armed Greek forces attempted to
crush the Turks at Erenkoy on the north coast, in order to interrupt
the alleged flow of munitions from the Turkish mainland: they would
undoubtedly have succeeded had not the Turkish air force intervened.
This act added a new dimension to the conflict. Fear of Turkish
intervention sobered the Greek Cypriots somewhat, and they settled down
to a systematic economic blockade of the Turkish enclaves. Further
armed conflict in 1967 provoked Turkey to threaten military
intervention, but with the takeover of Greece by a Military Junta, and
an economic boom occurring on Cyprus, enosis seemed less attractive and
the violence subsided
However, intervention finally came in 1974. During the presidential
elections of 1974,
Makarios clearly announced the cause of enosis, and was re-elected.
He subsequently ordered the withdrawal of mainland Greek officers from
the Island, whereupon the National Guard, which was under the command
of those same mainland Greek officers loyal to the Junta, stormed the
presidential palace in Nicosia, although President Makarios escaped. In
the face of this bloody coup, which brought the island to the brink of
political extinction and a humanitarian tragedy, Turkey, which was
treaty-bound to act as a Guarantor State, was forced to undertake
action. As a result of this legitimate and timely action, Turkish
Cypriots were saved from imminent destruction, bloodshed among the
Greek Cypriots was ended and the independence of Cyprus was protected.
U.N.-led direct talks between the two sides to reach a comprehensive
settlement to the division of the island began in early 2002, and
reached a culmination when simultaneous referenda were held on each
side on April 24, 2004.
Mr. Speaker, it is remarkable that, after all they have gone through,
the Turkish Cypriots have continued to demonstrate a genuine desire to
settle their differences with their Greek neighbors in a peaceful and
amicable way through negotiations. In the referendum of April 24th, the
Turkish Cypriots voted 65 percent to approve the U.N. plan for
reunification of the island. In contrast, the Greek Cypriots gave the
plan a resounding no by a 3 to 1 margin, effectively leaving all
settlement efforts in limbo. Yet, in an ironic twist of events, it was
the Greek Cypriots who were allowed to enter the European Union in May
while the Turkish Cypriots, like their counterparts in Turkey, continue
to be left out in the cold.
Under the circumstances, I agree with U.N. Secretary-General Annan
when he cited in his latest report on the situation in Cyprus, that
there is no justification for keeping the Turkish Cypriots in isolation
from the rest of the international community. The restrictions that
have been imposed on their economic, political and cultural activity
internationally should be lifted. Turkish Cypriots must be allowed to
enjoy the benefits--benefits they were guaranteed under the 1960
independence agreement, which any peaceful, democratic society
deserves.
Fair and equal treatment of the Turkish Cypriots can only benefit the
island as a whole and further facilitate the achievement of a
negotiated settlement.
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