[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             27TH ANNIVERSARY OF TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, tonight I join my other colleague, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), on the House floor to 
remember a horrific act taken by Turkey against the citizens of Cyprus 
27 years ago.
  On July 20, 1974, the Nation of Turkey violated international law 
when it brutally invaded the sovereign Republic of Cyprus. Following 
the Turkish invasion, 200,000 people were forcibly displaced from their 
homes and a large number of Cypriot people, who were captured during 
the invasion, including five American citizens, are still missing 
today.
  Earlier this year, the Turkish government was rebuked by the European 
Court of Human Rights when the court overwhelmingly found Turkey guilty 
of massive human rights violations over the last 27 years in a scathing 
146-page decision. In the case of Cyprus versus Turkey, the court 
concluded Turkey had not done enough to investigate the whereabouts of 
Greek-Cypriot missing persons who disappeared during life-threatening 
situations after the occupation.
  The court also found Turkey guilty of refusing to allow the return of 
any Greek-Cypriot displaced persons to their homes in Northern Cyprus. 
Families continue to be separated by the 113-mile barbed wire fence 
that runs across the island. The court found this to be unacceptable.
  Mr. Speaker, I was also troubled by the court's findings on the 
living conditions of Greek Cypriots living in the Karpas region of 
Northern Cyprus. Residents in this region face strict restrictions on 
access to religious worship, no access to appropriate secondary schools 
for their children, and no security that their possessions will be 
passed on to their families after their death.
  By disregarding international law and order, and by defying 
democratic principles, Turkey has over the past 27 years remained an 
anachronistic hostage to the past rather than choosing to look to the 
future with renewed vitality for cooperation and development.
  Since the invasion, all efforts towards finding a just, peaceful, and 
viable solution to the problem have been constantly met with 
intransigence and the lack of political will by Turkey. The United 
States, which is trusted by all sides in this conflict, has the ability 
to help move the peace process forward. We must continue to support the 
United Nations' framework for negotiations between the Greek-Cypriot 
and Turkish-Cypriot communities. But currently peace negotiations are 
at a standstill.
  Over the years, I have become quite familiar with the Turkish side's 
of well-known negotiation tactics. The Turkish side agrees to peace 
negotiations on the Cyprus problem only for the purpose of undermining 
them once they begin and then blames the Greek Cypriots for their 
failure. Once again, face-to-face negotiations that were scheduled for 
January have never occurred because Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf 
Denktash refuses to attend.
  Mr. Speaker, while the U.S. should do everything possible to restart 
the U.N. negotiations, it should be made crystal clear to the Turkish 
leadership and Mr. Denktash that their unacceptable demand for 
recognition of a separate state in order to return to the negotiating 
table are completely unacceptable. No effort should be made to appease 
the Turkish Cypriot leader in order to return to the negotiating table.
  And not only should Mr. Denktash return to the negotiating table, but 
he should negotiate in good faith in order to reach a comprehensive 
settlement within the framework provided by the relevant United Nations 
Security Council's Resolutions. These resolutions establish a bizonal, 
bicommunal federation with a single international personality and 
sovereignty and a single citizenship.
  Mr. Speaker, for 27 years now, the people of Cyprus have been denied 
their independence and freedom because of a foreign aggressor. I urge 
all of my colleagues to join me in remembering what the Cypriot people 
have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of the Turks. I also 
urge my colleagues to join me in pressuring the administration to focus 
American efforts to move the peace process forward on the Turkish 
military, which has real and substantial influence on decision-making 
in the Turkish government.

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