[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE 34TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2008

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, today we commemorate the 34th 
anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Today we also honor the 
memory and sacrifice of the nearly 200,000 Greek Cypriots who were 
forcibly removed from their homes, the 5,000 Cypriots who were killed 
during the invasion and the nearly 1,500 Greek Cypriots who remain 
missing to this day.
  Cyprus and the U.S. share a deep and abiding commitment to upholding 
the ideals of freedom, human rights, and the international rule of law. 
As that commitment is tested, we must draw on our common values and 
mutual democratic vision to promote stability, prosperity and peace.
  The United States has a moral and ethical obligation to stand with 
Cypriots to reunify their island and end the military occupation. We 
will continue to work together with the people of Cyprus toward their 
goal to reunify the island as a bicommunal and bi-zonal federation with 
a single sovereignty, single international personality and single 
citizenship with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for 
all Cypriots.
  By working together and building on our common values and interests, 
the people of Cyprus and the United States can achieve a united island 
that fulfills the promise of peace and democracy for which a generation 
of Cypriots have paid so dearly.

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