[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ON THE 36TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TURKISH INVASION AND SUBSEQUENT 
                          OCCUPATION OF CYPRUS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NIKI TSONGAS

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 2010

  Ms. TSONGAS. Madam Speaker, today marks the thirty-sixth anniversary 
of the Turkish invasion and subsequent occupation of Cyprus. Since the 
late 1970s, the UN, with US support, has promoted negotiations aimed at 
reuniting the island. Despite high hopes for reconciliation in 2008, 
and despite some progress in that direction, the normalization process 
appears stalled.
  We have a moral and ethical obligation to stand with Cypriots to 
reunify their island as a single sovereignty, with a single citizenship 
based on human rights, democracy and fundamental freedoms. It is time 
to acknowledge and rectify abuses against Greek Cypriots whose rights 
have been ignored or violated over these many years. It is time to find 
common ground and help Cyprus build a unified economy. According to the 
Peace Research Institute in Oslo, a successful federalist settlement 
could lead to an additional ten percent GDP growth within seven years.
  I have spoken out on this issue before, and will continue to press 
for the day in which we have a reunified and prosperous Cyprus where 
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can live together in peace, 
security and stability, free from foreign aggression and intervention.

                          ____________________