[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 109 (Thursday, July 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE 38TH ANNIVERSARY OF INVASION OF CYPRUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Maloney) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise as the founder and cochair of the 
Hellenic Caucus to speak on the 38th anniversary of the 1974 illegal 
Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus. We must ensure that the 
passage of time does not allow us to forget that the Cyprus issue is 
the result of an illegal invasion and ongoing occupation.
  It is long overdue for Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus so 
that the island can move forward as one nation. Turkey continues to 
forcibly occupy more than one-third of Cyprus with more than 48,000 
troops. In addition, to date, Turkey has repeatedly ignored many of the 
United Nations resolutions pertaining to Cyprus and has continued to 
occupy the island in complete violation of international law.
  The destruction of religious and cultural sites and artifacts 
continues unabated, in a long list of Turkish actions that flagrantly 
disrespect the rights and religious freedoms of the Cypriot people. In 
the last Congress, the Hellenic Caucus passed a resolution in the House 
calling for the protection of these religious sites and artifacts in 
Turkish-occupied areas. We have also worked on a resolution that has 
been introduced by Mr. Bilirakis and Mr. Engel, H. Res. 676, which 
calls for the halt of the Republic of Turkey's illegal colonization of 
the Republic of Cyprus with non-Cypriot populations. They are moving 
people onto the island. It is reported there are 500,000 Cypriot phones 
in the Turkish area. So the population--no one knows how many more 
people they're moving in. Cyprus is endeavoring to control all of its 
territory to end Turkey's occupation and to exploit its energy 
resources without illegal interference by Turkey.
  In 2011, they discovered gas in the Cypriot area. The Noble Energy 
Company, a private energy company from Texas, discovered that a field 
off the coast of Cyprus may hold as much as 8 trillion cubic feet of 
natural gas, the first discovery off the divided island nation. This is 
tremendously important for energy independence and for an ally to be 
able to support America and our energy needs. The beginning of drilling 
by Noble prompted Turkey in September to send a vessel accompanied by 
warships and fighter jets to the area.
  Cyprus is divided after Turkey invaded the northern third of the 
island in 1974. Turkey does not recognize the Greek Cypriot Government. 
So this is yet another development that the Turkish country has brought 
to the island of Cyprus.
  There have been some successes for Cyprus. In May of 2004, Cyprus, 
with the support of the United States, joined the European Union. And 
during the second half of this year, Cyprus took over the very 
important and prestigious position of presidency of the Council of the 
European Union. This is the first time Cyprus presided over the Council 
of the EU since it became a member of it in 2004.
  Yesterday, a group of Hellenic Caucus members met with a group of 
leaders from the district that I am honored to represent. They included 
Phil Christopher, Peter Papanicolaou and other national leaders of the 
Cypriot American community and other Greek American leaders. They came 
to participate in the hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee on the confirmation hearing of Mr. Koeing. John Koeing was 
nominated by President Obama to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, 
and we are hopeful that the confirmation will move forward.
  We are also very concerned about a bill that has been put forward 
that gives preferential treatment to Turkey over other countries on 
contracts and activities that take place on American Indian areas. This 
has caused a great deal of concern with the members of the caucus.
  I now want to express my opposition to the Indian Tribal Trade and 
Investment Demonstration Project Act. This bill would give preferential 
treatment to Turkish businesses to engage in investment activities on 
Indian tribal lands. And I question why they are being singled out for 
this consideration, given the illegal occupation that continues.
  I express my strong support for Cyprus and the vital role it is 
playing in European affairs and the strong ally they have been to the 
United States.

                          ____________________