[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 6, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S3784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 47--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS ON 
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS OVER ALL OF THE TERRITORY OF 
                         THE ISLAND OF CYPRESS

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Ms. Snowe) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 47

       Whereas the Republic of Cyprus is an independent, sovereign 
     nation-state;
       Whereas the Republic of Cyprus, as the only sovereign state 
     on the island of Cyprus, is a member of the United Nations, 
     the European Union, and other key international and 
     multilateral organizations;
       Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated that 
     the Republic of Cyprus is ``strategically important'';
       Whereas the Government of Cyprus is a close friend and 
     partner of the United States Government in the volatile 
     eastern Mediterranean region;
       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 939 
     (1994) reaffirms that a solution to the Cypriot issue must be 
     based on a State of Cyprus with a single sovereignty and 
     international personality, and a single citizenship, with its 
     independence and territorial integrity safeguarded, and 
     comprising two politically equal communities as described in 
     the relevant Security Council resolutions, in a bicommunal 
     and bizonal federation, and that such a settlement must 
     exclude union in whole or in part with any other country or 
     any form of partition or secession;
       Whereas the Government of Turkey illegally occupies the 
     northern area of Cyprus with an armed force of 43,000 troops;
       Whereas Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the 
     Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva 
     August 12, 1949, states, ``The Occupying Power shall not 
     deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into 
     the territory it occupies.'';
       Whereas, in 1954, the Government of Turkey ratified the 
     Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian 
     Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949;
       Whereas the Government of Turkey is attempting to colonize 
     the part of Cyprus it occupies by sending hundreds of 
     thousands of citizens of Turkey to live permanently in 
     Cyprus;
       Whereas the demographic composition of the Republic of 
     Cyprus in 1974 was estimated to be 506,000 Greek-Cypriots and 
     118,000 Turkish-Cypriots;
       Whereas the current demographic composition of the Republic 
     of Cyprus is estimated to be 672,000 Greek-Cypriots, 89,000 
     Turkish-Cypriots, and 200,000-500,000 citizens of Turkey 
     transferred by the Government of Turkey to live permanently 
     in Cyprus;
       Whereas the Turkish-Cypriot community's leadership rejected 
     the Council of Europe's request to conduct an island-wide 
     census to accurately determine the current demographic 
     composition of the island's population;
       Whereas the Government of Turkey's colonization plan was 
     publicly exposed when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip 
     Erdogan told Turkish-Cypriots protesting against the transfer 
     of colonists from Turkey in the summer of 2011, ``If you 
     don't want us to send people, you need to have more 
     babies.'';
       Whereas the demographic composition of Cyprus is being 
     dramatically and illegally altered by the influx of non-
     Cypriot colonists sent from Turkey;
       Whereas 40,000 Turkish-Cypriots protested against Turkish 
     austerity measures during demonstrations in 2011, with 
     hundreds shouting and holding signs reading, ``Ankara, get 
     your hand off our shores.'';
       Whereas, on March 4, 2012, Turkey's European Union 
     Minister, Egemen Bagis, called for ``annexing northern Cyprus 
     to Turkey,'' an action that would be in direct violation of 
     the United Nations Charter, United Nations Security Council 
     resolutions on Cyprus, and United States Government policy 
     toward Cyprus;
       Whereas, in recent years, the Republic of Cyprus, along 
     with other countries in the eastern Mediterranean, including 
     Israel, have discovered vast reserves of natural gas within 
     their territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs);
       Whereas Cyprus and Israel recently signed an agreement 
     defining the boundaries of their respective EEZs, and, on 
     that basis, are proceeding with the exploration of natural 
     gas reserves;
       Whereas a United States company is currently developing 
     hydrocarbon deposits in the offshore EEZs of Cyprus and 
     Israel;
       Whereas these developments are significant for the energy 
     security and independence of Europe;
       Whereas the United States Government supports the sovereign 
     rights of Cyprus and Israel to explore hydrocarbon deposits 
     in their respective EEZs;
       Whereas the Government of Turkey is seeking to expand its 
     illegal occupation to control portions of the EEZ of Cyprus 
     and illegally seize and exploit the energy resources of 
     Cyprus;
       Whereas the Government of Turkey has engaged in a variety 
     of provocative and bellicose actions, including sending 
     warships off the southern coast of Cyprus to escort a Turkish 
     research vessel looking for hydrocarbon deposits, conducting 
     air and naval military exercises south of Cyprus in the area 
     of exploration, declaring invalid the agreement between 
     Israel and Cyprus demarcating their maritime borders, and 
     threatening the use of military action against Cyprus;
       Whereas the highest levels of the United States Government 
     have privately urged the Government of Turkey not to follow 
     through with its threats against Cyprus for exercising its 
     sovereign right to explore its natural resources; and
       Whereas, on April 26, 2012, the Government of Turkey began 
     illegally drilling for oil and natural gas on the island of 
     Cyprus, within the sovereign territory of the Republic of 
     Cyprus: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) respects and accepts the sovereignty of the Republic of 
     Cyprus over all of the territory of the island of Cyprus;
       (2) urges the Government of Turkey to respect, accept, and 
     formally recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus 
     over all of the territory of the island of Cyprus, end its 
     illegal military occupation of Cyprus, and accept and fully 
     implement all United Nations Security Council Resolutions on 
     Cyprus;
       (3) supports the Republic of Cyprus in its plans to explore 
     and exploit energy reserves within its Exclusive Economic 
     Zone (EEZ), and praises the Governments of the Republic of 
     Cyprus and Israel for working cooperatively to develop the 
     energy holdings in the region;
       (4) urges the Government of Turkey to cease all activities 
     and plans to further develop energy resources illegally 
     within the territory and EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus;
       (5) opposes the Government of Turkey's threatening 
     statements and naval movements designed to prevent the 
     Republic of Cyprus from exploiting its energy resources;
       (6) expresses serious concern about the effort by the 
     Government of Turkey to colonize the area of northern Cyprus 
     by sending hundreds of thousands of non-Cypriot Turkish 
     citizens to live in Cyprus;
       (7) considers the Government of Turkey in grave violation 
     of Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the 
     Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva 
     August 12, 1949, by transferring parts of its civilian 
     population into occupied northern Cyprus; and
       (8) urges the President to call on the Government of Turkey 
     to end its illegal colonization of Cyprus with non-Cypriot 
     populations, terminate its occupation of northern Cyprus, and 
     cease its illegal interference with the exploitation by the 
     Government of the Republic of Cyprus of its energy resources.

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