[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 92 (Wednesday, June 10, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        REUNIFICATION OF CYPRUS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 10, 2015

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Cyprus has made great strides in the 
past decade. It turns out that, just like the United States, Cyprus has 
a lot of natural gas. Let's hope they don't have as much bureaucracy to 
get through to export their gas as we do. But the country is held back 
because it is still divided by a foreign power. Turkey still has 30,000 
troops in Cyprus. Erdogan thinks he is still in control. The beauty of 
democratic elections is that you can see what the people really want.
  And faced with the choice between a candidate that wanted to keep 
Cyprus divided and one that wanted to reunify Cyprus, Turkish Cypriots 
chose reunification.
  It is encouraging to hear that negotiations between Greek Cypriots 
and Turkish Cypriots are getting back on track. You know, I was a judge 
in my former life. I dealt a lot with one word: justice. And as a judge 
I would never have allowed the kind of bullying that is seen by Turkey. 
The Turkish Cypriots should be able to negotiate on their own behalf. 
If they want peace, they should be able to get it. They don't need 
another foreign country like Turkey telling them what they can and 
cannot agree to. They do not want to be dependent on Turkey. They want 
to enjoy the economic freedom of the EU.
  Reunification will require a lot of work, but ultimately it will only 
happen if the two sides talk to each other. This time next year I hope 
we can come together to celebrate the reunification of Cyprus and the 
end of over 40 years of Turkish occupation.
  And that's just the way it is.

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