Greek American Congressman Gus Bilirakis on Cyprus: 'Mr. Speaker, 38 years is Long Enough'

 Part of the Poster advertising the documentrary 
'Cyprus Still Divided: A US Foreign Policy Failure
(Read more about the documentary below)

 

'There is no American reason why the Turks should not have one third of Cyprus...'

Dr Henry Kissinger,  US Secretary of State

38 years have passed since the brutal invasion and occupation of Cyprus by Turkey, with what appears to have been the maybe-not-so-tacit approval of the all powerful US Secretary of State at the time, Dr Henry Kissinger.

Although little has been done to solve the impasse in the last few years, Cyprus' accession to the EU has outraged Turkey which continues to throw its weight around in the Eastern Mediterranean, bullying Cyprus at every opportunity. 

In light of the on-going tragedy which continues for the Cypriot people, and who are deprived of their family, land and property, we  are glad to see people like Congressman Gus Bilirakis, and Global Greek organisations like AHEPA and AHI  issuing statements and working to keep the issue alive in the USA and around the world. 

This support is particularly significant in the interests of maintaining international justice and human rights on this beleaguered island. 

Listen to Congressman Bilirakis address the House on the eve of the 'black' anniversary of the Turkish invasion which divided Cyprus on 20 July 1974. 

You can read the text of his address just below the video.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today not only as a member of this esteemed body, but also as a Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues.

I stand before you today to recall a somber anniversary that has pained the Cypriot and Hellenic communities for the past 38 years.

Mr. Speaker, even though the tragic events of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus took place so long ago, on July 20, 1974, the suffering of the victims has not subsided.

This anniversary is a time for America to respectfully remember the brutal Turkish military invasion of Cyprus, to mourn those who lost their lives, and to condemn the continued occupation.

Over 5,000 Cypriots were killed in 1974, and more than 1,400 Greek Cypriots, including four Americans of Cypriot descent still remain missing.

Since the invasion, Turkey has established a heavily-armed military occupation that continues to control over 30 percent of Cyprus.

Forced expulsions of Greek Cypriots on the occupied land have left nearly 200,000 people displaced. These Cypriots were kicked out of their homes, making them refugees in their own country. Those properties have been unlawfully distributed and are currently being used by the tens of thousands of illegal settlers from Turkey. To this day, Greek Cypriots are prevented by Turkey from returning to their homes and properties.

Another tragic result of this 38 year occupation is the division among Greek and Turkish Cypriots, who have been forcibly separated along ethnic lines.

This unnatural division of the island nation is a crime against society and to the people of Cyprus – that can only be resolved by ending Turkey's illegal occupation.

Mr. Speaker, 38-years is just too long. On the occasion of this anniversary, we need to take a long, hard look at our own commitment toward helping Cyprus reach a lasting and enduring peace – free from occupation, division and oppression.

A few years ago, the U.S. House had the wisdom and foresight to unanimously pass H RES 405, a measure I introduced, which expressed strong support from this body for the implementation of the July 8 Agreement.

Last month, my colleagues and I introduced H Res 676:

• to expose and halt the Republic of Turkey's illegal colonization of the Republic of Cyprus with non-Cypriot populations,

• to support Cyprus in its efforts to control all of its territory,

• to end Turkey's illegal occupation of Cyprus,

• and to allow Cyprus to exploit its energy resources without illegal interference by Turkey.

The Republic of Cyprus has also worked alongside its European neighbors to bring about a stronger integration of Turkish and Greek Cypriot interests for the good of the Island and its people. This has included a partial-lifting on restrictions of movement across the cease-fire line that continues to forcibly divide Cyprus.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that because of this continued integration between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and the economic and political successes that the Republic of Cyprus so readily wants to share with its neighbors, it is possible to bring closure to this 38-year occupation, and now as Cyprus takes over the EU Presidency, the first time since its accession to the Union in 2004.

Cyprus has long been a strong and faithful ally of the United States. It continues to work with us in the Global War on Terrorism and has supported our efforts in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, 38 years is long enough. It is time to have a Cyprus that is once again unified, without Turkish occupation troops, foreign illegal settlers, where human rights is fundamental for all Cypriots.

Every legal citizen of the Republic of Cyprus, irrespective of national or religious background, is eligible to enjoy all rights provided for by the Constitution and international conventions signed by Cyprus. The only obstacle – Mr. Speaker – is the government of Turkey.

We Americans, as friends of the Cypriot people, owe it to them to do everything in our power to support peace and an end to Turkey's 38-year illegal occupation of Cyprus. 

Thank you.

Gus Bilirakis is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues


About AHI's documentary 'Cyprus Still Divided'

In the summer of 1974 Turkey launched a two-phased invasion of the Republic of Cyprus, using U.S. supplied arms and equipment to grab nearly 40 percent of Cyprus's sovereign territory and force 170,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes and property. Many observers believe the United States had the knowledge and power to prevent the Turkish invasion and later to compel Turkey to withdraw it troops, but Washington did neither of those things.

Today, more than 38 years later, the Turkish army continues to occupy the northern third of Cyprus in violation of international law, and Turkey has illegally settled occupied Cyprus with more than 180,000 Turks from Anatolia.

The American Hellenic Institute's Documentary “Cyprus Still Divided” reveals the reason why the US failed to act, revealing the web of domestic politics, the realpolitik of Henry Kissinger, and repeated refusal of successive U.S. presidents to demand that the rule of law and fundamental human rights be upheld in Cyprus, and presenting the facts in a clear and concise manner. For example, the documentary presents the recently declassified 1974 State Department memorandum that clearly indicts Secretary of State Kissinger, who made the incredibly cynical statement quoted above, 

“There is no American reason why the Turks should not have one-third of Cyprus.”

“Cyprus Still Divided” also looks to the future of the divided island in the context of the ongoing settlement negotiations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community that began in September 2008.

The documentary says:

“By abandoning the rule of law and its principles, the United States had a role in causing the present division of Cyprus. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. can perform a role in reunifying Cyprus.”


Click here to check with the American Hellenic Institute for future screenings of the documentary or to purchase it.

 

Welcoming US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Greece - 17 and 18 July 2011

We welcome US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to Athens today, the start of her official visit to Greece, and wish her every success.

As the First Lady of the USA Hillary Clinton has been to Greece several times but this is her first as Secretary of State, and comes at a critical moment in Greece's recent history.

Greece's economic crisis dominates every discussion at the moment but there are several issues which remain of great concern and which need resolution, so we are taking this opportunity to endorse the letter  the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) sent to  Secretary Clinton prior to her travel to Turkey and Greece, released on  July 12, 2011. 

The American Hellenic Institute is a Washington based, non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community regularly taking significant initiatives to enhance the bilateral relationship.

The letter written by AHI President and COO, Nick Larigakis, raises issues of great concern to the Greek American community (and to the Global Greek Community, we would add) :

issues that exist in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean and which are problematic in the context of the Greek American relationship;

issues which are based within the universally accepted principles of the rule of law and international law, including U.S. laws;

issues which include Turkey's Occupation of Cyprus, the suppression of religious freedom and violation of the minority communities, as well as FYROM's continuing intransigence and irredentism which makes resolution of the name issue a near impossibility...

 The first page of AHI's 9 page letter to Secretary Clinton

 To read the rest of the letter, download AHI’s letter to Secretary Clinton, here

We were pleased to see that Secretary Clinton's schedule included a visit to the Patriarchate in Istanbul (Constantinople). Photos below are from an independent blog on Hillary Clinton http://secretaryclinton.wordpress.com/

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

at The Patriarchate, Fanari, July 16, 2011.

REUTERS/Ahmet Dumanli/Anatolian

ΔΕΝ ΞΕΧΝΩ!! 36 Years Since the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus! WE WILL NOT FORGET!!!

Cyprus Divided: Source - Wikipedia

ΔΕΝ ΞΕΧΝΩ!!

WE WILL NOT FORGET!!

36 years ago today, a shudder of horror went through the Global Greek Community... Turkish troops invaded the deeply troubled island of Cyprus supposedly in response to an attempted coup by the Greek military Junta which was in power in Athens, except that the coup had been quashed and democracy back in place when the bloody invasion occurred.

All Greek men, including any Greeks from abroad who happened to be in Greece for the summer, were mobilised and prepared to be sent to the front to help the Greek Cypriot people defend the island against the aggressor! A call went out to Greek Communities everywhere in the world to send assistance in any shape or form; many even volunteered to fight in Cyprus.

In the days that followed, confusion reigned supreme, nobody really knew what was happening because of the blackout of the news. When the smoke cleared, the statistics spoke of another black chapter in the history of the Hellenic speaking world. 

Fellow blogger, Greek New Zealander Maria Verivakis, who happened to be in Greece with her family at the time, writes a compelling narrative of those days in her blogs, One Day in Hania and Organically Cooked

'At the tender age of eight, to me, war signified guns, Nazis and starving naked children, all of which bore no resemblance to the war that was unfolding in Greece. People wouldn't come out of their houses, the streets were empty, not a sound to be heard - music had practically become banned overnight (most of it had been censored in any case, under the military junta regime). Everyone had the radio turned on to hear all the news reports. People would walk around their houses, in their yards, with long faces; if they had to go somewhere - cars crossed the roads only occasionally - they would walk hurriedly, as if they feared a bogeyman. Whenever they came across a religious icon, they solemnly made the sign of the cross and whispered a prayer. My sister and I, once regarded as the 'Greek tourist foreigners', the centre of attention, were now noticed...'

Large scale ethnic cleansing of the Greek Cypriots, thousands were murdered, more than 1500 are still considered missing, more than 200 000 Greek Cypriots were displaced to the South, losing their homes and their lands, refugees in their own country; thousands were forced to leave, having lost their menfolk and their means of survival, going abroad to host countries - Greece, England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa... On the other side, Turkish Cypriots in the South were forced to the North, but the numbers were far less. In the end, 20% of the population were occupying approx 40% of the island state.

Over the years, the situation has worsened, with the presence of over 40,000 troops on Cyprus, the population in the North having been bolstered by mainland Turkish settlers, not Turkish Cypriots, and many acts of aggression against those who sought to fight against this illegal occupation. An occupation condemned by several UN Resolutions which continue to be flagrantly ignored by progressive Turkish governments and their 'friends'. This situation continues today with Cyprus still under military occupation and divided, with the violation of human rights an everyday occurrence, despite the fact that it is a fully fledged member of the European Union. The only divided country in Europe...



Who can ever forget the murder of Tasos Isaac, an unarmed civilian protesting against the Turkish occupation in August of 1996 and the cold blooded felling of his cousin, the heroic Solomos Solomou, a few days later, on the day of Tasos Isaac's funeral, as he scrambled up the flagpole, daring to do the unthinkable -  to remove the Turkish flag!





This deed of heroism inspired Notis Sfakianakis to write the following ode to Solomos Solomou...



One US Congresswoman, Diane Watson, expressed her view of the Cyprus problem in the Huffington Post last year, taking a stand and saying among other things that

A solution to the Cyprus Problem is in the best interest of the Greek Cypriots, the Turkish Cypriots, and the greater global community -- a fact that nobody understands better than the Cypriots themselves. The ongoing division of the island destabilizes American security interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, and obstructs Turkey's European Union accession efforts. For these reasons I strongly believe the United States should support the current Cypriot-driven efforts to find a solution without interjecting ourselves into the process or imposing artificial deadlines. (For original HuffPost article, click here )


History will decide on the part played by US Secretary of State at the time of the invasions, in July and August of 1974, Henry Kissinger, and of the dubious neutral role of the British in all this, but there are many hopes that the next generation of politicians of both communities on Cyprus, headed by President Demetris Christofias and Mr Dervis Eroglu, like Mr Mehmet Ali Talat before him, will be able to take the country forward, past the divisions of the past and the Greek Cypriot veto of the Annan plan. 

So far there has been little progress of note, but in a meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York, last month the UN Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon encouraged Mr Dervis Eroglu ' to grasp the current political window of opportunity to reach a settlement, ... saying that 'he hoped that the two leaders would make serious advances in the coming months, understanding that this would require compromises on both sides'

Καρτερούμεν... We are waiting...

We have no choice but to wait and see, but one thing is sure, we in the Global Greek World must not forget!

ΔΕΝ ΞΕΧΝΩ!!

Bravo J-Lo! Jennifer Lopez Cancels Concert Appearance in Turkish Occupied Cyprus

Jennifer Lopez

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Photographer: Anastasia Burns

Highly popular American actress, singer and dancer, Jennifer Lopez has officially withdrawn from a concert planned for the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus after widespread criticism that the appearance would make a political statement, the entertainment website TMZ.com reported.

A Facebook group protesting this concert has gathered over 19,000 members to date  and a great deal of angry protests have been heard from  Greek and Greek-Cypriot fans, politicians and organisations  after reports surfaced about the planned concert.  

Lopez was to perform July 24 at a new hotel and casino in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus - an area that neither the United Nations nor the European Union recognize as an independent sovereign state, because of the way it was illegally occupied by the Turkish military in 1974.

"Jennifer Lopez would never knowingly support any state, country, institution or regime that was associated with any form of human rights abuse," a representative for the American singer and actress told TMZ on Thursday.

"After a full review of the relevant circumstances in Cyprus, it was the decision of management to withdraw from the appearance. This was a team decision that reflects our sensitivity to the political realities of the region."

We at Global Greek World are glad that  criticism and effective lobbying, properly organised, has the desired results! 

We thank J-Lo and her team for having the sensitivity to understand that this concert would have sent the wrong message and to cancel it. 

We wish her all the best and look forward to seeing her in concert in the near future...


We read about it at TMZ/AFP