[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            30TH ANNIVERSARY ON TURKEY'S INVASION OF CYPRUS

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                         HON. GREGORY W. MEEKS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2004

  Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, this week, the world marked the 
30th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus. And so began three 
decades of Turkey's illegal military occupation of Cyprus. Even as we 
speak, Turkey maintains 30,000 heavily armed troops in the occupied 
portions of Cyprus.
  For 30 years, Cyprus has been divided by a green line--a 113 mile 
barbed wire barrier that runs across the width of the island.
  For 30 years, Greek Cypriots have experienced 30 years of ethnic 
cleansing, forcible evictions, and missing persons. Cyprus has endured 
30 years of the flouting of its territorial integrity. This includes 
the occupation authority's attempt to create an independent ``Turkish 
Republic of Northern Cyprus.''
  The international community has witnessed 30 years of the flagrant 
violation of U.N. General Assembly resolutions and Security Council 
decisions calling for immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces from 
Cyprus, the return of refugees, and respect for the island's 
sovereignty.
  Thirty years is a long time. The occupation of Cyprus has been going 
on too long. If left to their own wisdom and devices, with firm 
international support, Greek and Turkish Cypriots could find ways to 
live in peace and harmony.
  The international community can and must play an indispensable role 
in settling the Cyprus dispute. But, to do this, it must draw the 
proper conclusions from results of the vote this past April on the 
reunification plan put forward by the United Nations.
  Seventy six percent of the Greek Cypriot electorate opposed the 
``Annan Plan'' because of concerns about security, property 
restitution, and the structure of the proposed central government, 
while 65 percent of Turkish Cypriot voters supported it. It is clear 
from this experience that a workable solution must take the interests 
and concerns of both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities fully 
into account.
  It is instructive that the split vote has not led to greater tension 
between the two communities or between Greece and Turkey. During most 
of the 433 year history of Cyprus, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have 
coexisted peacefully.
  With the notable exception of the period that immediately followed 
Turkish occupation of Cyprus, Greek and Turkish Cypriot relations have 
largely been free of inter-communal violence. The hotly debated 
referendum itself took place overwhelmingly with an absence of 
conflict. This shows that despite the differences between them, Greek 
and Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly share a desire for peace.
  The leadership of the Republic of Cyprus seeks a bizonal, bicommunal 
federation under a plan that promotes the genuine reunification of 
Cypriots and Cypriot society, while enabling each community to retain 
its own identity and culture.
  Cyprus's admission to the European Union on May 1st of this year may 
have created a new opportunity for resolving the division and 
occupation with an inclusive democratic system in which human rights 
are fully respected and the fundamental freedoms on which the European 
Union is founded, are guaranteed.
  Taking all of this into account, the U.N. needs to go back to the 
drawing board. The U.S. needs to remain an honest broker. It must not 
attempt to impose a solution that the overwhelming majority of Greek-
Cypriots reject. To do so will make an ultimate solution and final 
reunification difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.
  America must at all times remember that a united, peaceful, and 
prosperous Cyprus is in our national interest and the interest of world 
peace. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Cyprus was one of the first 
nations to express its solidarity with the United States. Cyprus has 
also been a strong ally in the war against terrorism. We must continue 
to support our friends, who like us, only seek to live in peace.

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