[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4767]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IN HONOR OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF GREECE'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 
                        FROM THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

  (Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission 
to address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
celebrate the 193rd anniversary of Greece's declaration of independence 
from the Ottoman Empire.
  The ancient Greeks forged the notion of democracy. They believed in 
the right of self-governance, one of the foundations of our great 
Nation; yet, for centuries, the Greek people--the people whose 
ancestors inspired our own country's founding, the people who Thomas 
Jefferson called the light which led ourselves out of Gothic darkness, 
the Greek people were denied this right.
  Today, Greeks celebrate March 25 as the day when the Greeks began the 
long, hard battle for independence.
  I recently met with Ambassador John Koenig, ambassador to Cyprus, to 
discuss the latest on our Cyprus negotiations. He was hopeful that real 
progress could be made in unifying the island and stopping the illegal 
Turkish occupation.
  The U.S. must also continue to work to find a mutually agreeable name 
for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
  Greece is an important ally to the United States. I am proud to stand 
with American Greeks today to celebrate their independence and 
aspirations.

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