[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7447]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 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, 2 days from now the people of Cyprus will 
take a historical vote on the future of their country, voting on a 
referendum finalized several weeks ago by U.N. Secretary General Kofi 
Annan.
  Secretary General Annan has dedicated a great deal of time over the 
past couple of years to finally resolving the 30-year Cyprus problem. 
He has been extremely patient in dealing with the intransigence of 
Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, intransigence that continues to 
this day.
  Having met with the Secretary General last month, I have no doubt 
that he understands the concerns of both the Greek Cypriots and the 
Turkish Cypriots; but unfortunately, his final plan unfairly benefits 
the Turkish side and does not achieve the goal of truly reunifying the 
island nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have serious reservations about the final Annan plan 
because it forces the Cypriot people to put too much faith in the 
Turkish Government. When Cypriots go to the voting booth on the 24th, 
they are forced to take the Turkish Government at its word that the 
Turkish parliament will ratify the treaty. The Cypriots are forced to 
take the Turkish Government at its word that occupied land will be 
returned to its rightful owners 3 to 5 years down the line, and the 
Cypriots are forced to believe that Turkey will remove its troops 
according to the timetable in the Annan plan and are forced to deal 
with the fact that Turkish troops will remain in Cyprus forever with 
Turkey having the unilateral right to intervene at any time.
  I am afraid, Mr. Speaker, the final Annan plan gives Turkey too much 
opportunity to either delay or not implement critical property and 
security issues in the years to come.
  When I met with the Secretary General, I strongly recommended that 
the U.N. maintain a presence on the island as long as the Turkish Army 
remains. The Secretary General assured me that U.N. forces would remain 
on Cyprus for a considerable amount of time, but his final plan allows 
Turkish troops to stay indefinitely without an international presence; 
and I find this simply unacceptable. I am extremely worried about the 
actions Turkish troops might take with the absence of a neutral 
international presence to keep them in line. I am also concerned that 
Turkey will not abide by the final agreement and its troops will 
contribute to further instability and insecurity.
  Over the next couple of weeks, the people of Cyprus will carefully 
analyze this plan and determine if it provides the best framework for 
the island nation to enter the European Union united. This is their 
decision alone, and outside forces should not attempt to scare or 
threaten them into voting a certain way. Whatever the outcome, it is 
important the international community and the United States honor that 
decision and work to ensure Cyprus's future remains bright.

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