[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3343-3344]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       CYPRUS PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

  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, last week, peace negotiations finally 
resumed over the 30-year Cyprus conflict. After reaching the end of the 
road last March, thanks to what was described at the time by officials 
close to the negotiations as intransigence on the part of Turkish-
Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriot leader finally agreed 
to return to the negotiating table with Cyprus President Tassos 
Papadopoulos. The framework by which the two are now negotiating is a 
plan written by the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. While the 
Secretary General's proposal serves as a starting off point, it should 
by no means serve as the final agreement to finally unify the nation of 
Cyprus.
  Last year, Mr. Speaker, I visited Cyprus for the first time. And 
while I believe it is critical for a unified Cyprus to join the 
European Union later this year, I also believe that the framework 
agreed to between the two sides must lay the foundation for a 
democratic government to thrive for many years to come.

                              {time}  1830

  Unfortunately, there are parts of the Annan plan that makes it 
virtually impossible for an established government to function. In 
fact, there are sections of the plan that would make the island country 
less democratic than it was after an agreement imposed against Greek 
Cypriots during the Cold War back in 1959.
  Mr. Speaker, the Annan plan in my opinion is undemocratic. Under the 
plan, a parliamentary system would be created with two legislative 
bodies, a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. The Senate shall be 
composed of 48 members with a requirement that half of those Members, 
24, come from Cyprus and the other half come from the Turkish Cypriot 
side. Keep in mind that the Turkish Cypriot minority only makes up 18 
percent of the islands. The Annan plan gives that 18 percent equal 
footing with the 82 percent of the Republic of Cyprus population. How 
is that democratic?
  Then in addition to that in the Chamber of Deputies, the Annan plan 
says it too shall consist of 48 members elected on a proportional 
basis, but both the Turkish Cypriot side and the Republic of Cyprus 
side are guaranteed a minimum of one-fourth of the seats. And the 
significant advantage for the minority does not end there. The Annan 
plan states that laws be enacted by a majority vote in each of the 
houses as long as at least one-fourth of the senators from each of the 
two component states comprises the majority vote in the Senate. This 
means that the 18 percent holds a virtual veto over any legislation 
being passed.
  Mr. Speaker, if we compare the Annan plan to our own government here 
in the United States, let us say that the Democrats and Republicans 
each held 50 seats in the Senate, something that actually happened a 
few years ago. You remember how difficult it was for both sides to 
govern. If fact, it created a position in which one Republican, Jim 
Jeffords, actually left the Republican Party in order to become an 
Independent. Now, if just being 50-50 is not hard enough, imagine if 
the U.S. Senate could not pass any legislation without one-fourth of 
the Republican side agreeing with the Democratic side, or vice versa. 
There is no way we could govern under those conditions.
  How can we expect Cyprus, a country which has been torn apart for 
almost 30 years, to govern under these same circumstances? I do not 
mean to be critical of U.N. Secretary Annan. He has done a fantastic 
job of trying to meet the unrealistic threats of Turkish leader 
Denktash. Furthermore, the government of Cyprus has consistently agreed 
to negotiate within the frame of the U.N. proposal.
  The Annan plan is a good draft, but that is all it is. It is critical 
that not only the United Nations but also the Bush administration and 
the State Department realize that in its current form the Cyprus 
government would not be able to govern. These concerns, as well as 
several others, must be addressed before any real peace agreement can 
be reached.
  I want to conclude by saying again, the Annan plan was supposed to be 
a basis for negotiations and everyone agrees that is certainly the 
case, but it should not be the final outcome. I am afraid that our own 
administration, the Bush administration, the State Department, are 
trying to put pressure on the Cyprus government that they have to agree 
to the Annan plan just the way it is and that no changes can be made. 
That is not only unfair, I think

[[Page 3344]]

it leads to an unworkable situation in the long run. We have to realize 
that as much as the Annan plan is a good basis for negotiation, it 
should not be the end result because if it were, I think in the long 
run it would actually be to the detriment to the future government of a 
united Cyprus.

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