[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 113 (Friday, July 18, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             40TH ANNIVERSARY OF TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS

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                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 18, 2014

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, this Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of 
the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. On July 20, 1974, Turkey invaded the 
Republic of Cyprus as tensions between Turkish and Greek Cypriots rose. 
This invasion cost thousands of lives and forced an estimated 170,000 
Greek Cypriots from their homes. The Greek Cypriots who remained in the 
Turkish occupied territory and those refugees who fled to the south 
lost property and possessions and continue to face restrictions on 
their ability to access and worship at religious sites.
  Throughout the years leading up to the conflict and the past forty 
years of division, our country has been committed to a peaceful 
solution and a unified Republic of Cyprus. Fifty years ago, President 
Lyndon Johnson helped delay the occupation by strongly urging the 
Turkish Prime Minister against intervening in Cyprus. In a letter to 
the Prime Minister, President Johnson insisted that ``a final solution 
of the Cyprus problem should rest upon the consent of the parties most 
directly concerned.'' Since the invasion, our government has supported 
a peaceful resolution that brings both parties together in an effort to 
end the division and restore unity.
  Today we have reason for increased optimism as leaders from both 
sides on the Island have reengaged in negotiations. The calls of Greek 
and Turkish Cypriots for a unified Republic have grown louder, and I 
hope this anniversary will increase the urgency to restore the rights 
of all Cypriots and create a lasting peace on the Island.

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