[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 15, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S4498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 CYPRUS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to mark a troubling 
anniversary--that of the 40th year of the division of the island of 
Cyprus.
  U.N. peacekeepers first came to Cyprus in 1964 due to intercommunal 
fighting.
  Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided into the government-controlled 
two-thirds of the island and the remaining one-third of the island 
which is administered by Turkish Cypriots and occupied by Turkish 
military forces. The Republic of Cyprus, which joined the European 
Union in 2004, continues to be the only internationally recognized 
government on the island.
  Tragically, Cyprus has been divided now for four decades, with a U.N. 
buffer zone separating the entire island--the so-called green line. 
Violence today is rare, but the long-term impacts of the separation are 
stark--displaced people, memories of family members killed in earlier 
violence, and lost property rights. Quite simply, a people who share a 
common island have been unnecessarily divided for far too long.
  Over the last decade there have been signs of hope that the island 
would be reunified and the Turkish occupation brought to an end. In 
2009, for example, I visited Cyprus and met with then Cypriot President 
Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. 
Christofias and Talat, at considerable political risk, had undertaken 
negotiations that showed real promise--talks that I and the 
international community hoped would succeed. Unfortunately, they did 
not, and several years have passed without a resolution.
  Meanwhile, the situation in Cyprus has left an island and a region 
divided. People have died. Families have been separated. An entire 
coastal area, Varosha, remains an occupied ghost town. There has been a 
great deal of pain inflicted on the people of this island.
  While I am saddened by this 40th anniversary, I am also encouraged 
that a new group of leaders in Cyprus has undertaken talks that show 
some promise. After Vice President Joe Biden visited Cyprus in May, 
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis 
Eroglu agreed to meet at least twice a month and undertake confidence 
building measures aimed at easing the many years of mistrust between 
the two sides.
  I hope the leaders of Turkey will also step forward and bring an end 
to the military occupation of a third of the island. Such military 
seizure of territory has no place in today's modern Europe.
  While this is a Cypriot-led process and negotiation, I wish to 
express my strong hope and support for the current negotiations to 
bring peaceful and enduring settlement to the island.
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I wish to speak about the 
situation in Cyprus. Forty years ago this week, military forces from 
Turkey invaded Cyprus, eventually taking control of 38 percent of the 
island. Cyprus has remained divided ever since. As we observe this 
solemn occasion, I call on all parties to find a peaceful negotiated 
settlement in Cyprus.
  Cyprus is an important partner to the United States, and I appreciate 
the recent attention given to Cyprus reunification by the Obama 
administration. In May 2014, Vice President Biden visited the island 
and met with President Anastasiades and Dr. Eroglu. Vice President 
Biden personally conveyed our country's support for reunification of 
Cyprus as a bizonal, bicommunal federation. However, as Vice President 
Biden said, ``. . . ultimately, the solution cannot come from the 
outside. It cannot come from the United States or anywhere else; it has 
to come from the leaders of the two communities, and from the 
compelling voices of the civil society leaders . . .''
  In February 2014, Cypriot leaders issued a joint statement, prompting 
the formal resumption of unification talks. I was encouraged by this 
step but have followed this issue long enough to know that negotiators 
face a difficult, though not insurmountable, task. I wish them well in 
their negotiations and hope we can soon see progress towards a peaceful 
reunification in Cyprus.

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