CYPRUS

It has been more than three decades since Turkey invaded Cyprus, forcing

180,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. This barbaric attack violated the

United Nations Charter and NATO Treaty and was condemned by the international community. And yet, to this day, Cyprus remains illegally occupied and cruelly divided by a wall of barbed wire.

Enough! Cypriots should at long last be allowed to live in a democratic land free from threat of war. It is with this goal in mind that I call on Turkey to immediately remove its 43,000 soldiers and 160,000 settlers from the occupied region of Cyprus. The presence of these troops is a violation of the United Nations Charter and Security Council resolutions. And the Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly forbids the presence of Turkish colonists on Cypriot soil.

My request comes at a time of renewed interest in a free and united Cyprus.

In September, Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will participate in peace talks. It is my hope that these discussions will result in a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation of Cypriot people in a Cypriot state with a single sovereignty, one that adheres to the principles of a constitutional democracy, and respects the laws of the European Union as well as United Nations resolutions regarding Cyprus.

I warn Turkish leaders not to manipulate these talks or restrict Mr. Talat at the bargaining table. Failure to heed this advice could result in a breakdown in talks and a diplomatic dead end for Turkish Cypriots and for Turkey’s European Union aspirations.

In an address in Boston on July 7, 1988, Vice President and Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush said that he wanted Cyprus to be a “constitutional democracy based on majority rule, the rule of law, and the protection of minority rights.” I have a similar vision for Cyprus and I am committed to making that vision a reality.

Attached for your review is a collection of past presidential campaign statements regarding issues of concern to the Greek American community.

PAST PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS ON CYPRUS

Sept. 16, 1976: In a speech in Washington, then presidential candidate Jimmy Carter said that the U.S. must work “to insure the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Cyprus.” He went on to say that the “United States must pursue a policy based on principle and in accord with the rule of the law.” He said that if he was elected president he would “enforce and carry out the provisions of my statement.”

Sept. 26, 1980: The Reagan-Bush Committee issued the following statement from presidential candidate Ronald Reagan: “Cypriot refugees, be they Greek or Turkish, should be permitted to return to their homes and land. I support the full implementation of the unanimously approved United Nations Resolution 3212 of November 1974 which ‘Calls upon all States to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus and to refrain from all acts and intervention directed against it; Urges the speedy withdrawal of all foreign armed forces and foreign military presence and personnel from the Republic of Cyprus and the cessation of all foreign interference in its affairs.’”

October 2, 1992: Presidential candidate Gov. Bill Clinton issued this statement: “In this world of extraordinary change, it is tragic that a just solution to the Cyprus problem remains elusive. Since 1974 the northern part of Cyprus has been under Turkish military occupation. The United States has a moral obligation as well as a national security interest to see that this illegal occupation comes to an end … I will give the Cyprus issue a high foreign policy priority in my administration and, working with the European Community and the United Nations, I will press hard to a lasting solution to the tragedy of Cyprus.”

Unfortunately, none of these past presidents made good on their promises to put an end to Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus.

FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA (FYROM)

Stability in the Balkans is very important to U.S. interests and every country in the Balkans. The continuing unresolved issue between Greece and the FYROM over the name of the latter contributes to instability.

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As President, I will call on FYROM to negotiate in good faith with Greece under the auspices of U.N. special envoy, Matthew Nimetz, to resolve the name issue with Greece.

In the meantime, FYROM must cease engaging in irredentist propaganda against Greece, which violates the UN-brokered Interim Accord, as stated in Article 7 paragraph 1 of the Accord, signed in New York on September 13, 1995 between FYROM and Greece.

The continuing systematic revisionist government policy by FYROM over the years, if continued, will hinder FYROM’s accession to both the EU and NATO.

By using the name “Macedonia,” FYROM presents itself as the ruler of an entire region known as Macedonia. Since antiquity, the name Macedonia has referred to a geographical region, not a nationality. This is insulting to, Greece, our long-time staunch ally and supporter in the Balkans.

The United Nations does not refer to FYROM as “Macedonia,” and is trying to work out differences between Greece and FYROM. Earlier this year, Greece voted to block FYROM’s membership to NATO because FYROM leaders refuse to negotiate on a name that was acceptable to both countries.

I will not support FYROM’s grab at the Macedonia name and will work to undo what was done in 2004 when we violated our commitment and recognized FYROM as the “Republic of Macedonia.”

I oppose the usage of the name “Macedonia” as we did in 1944 when Marshal Tito changed the name of the southern Yugoslav province from Vardar-Banovina to “Macedonia” in an attempt to foment disorder in northern Greece in furtherance of his plan to communize the Balkan Peninsula and gain control of the key port city of Salonica.

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

The Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, Turkey is the spiritual leader of approximately 300 million Orthodox Christians around the world, including about 6 million in the U.S.

The Halki Patriarchal School of Theology, which the Turkish government illegally closed in 1971, must be reopened and allowed to continue its mission of training priests and prelates for the Greek Orthodox community.

The Turkish government tolerates assaults against its Greek Orthodox Christian religious minority. These actions violate U.S. principles and freedom of religion. Section 2804 of the FY 1999 Appropriations Bill, calls on the Turkish government to safeguard the Ecumenical Patriarchate, its personnel, and property, and to re-open the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology.

My administration will strongly call on Turkey to safeguard the Ecumenical Patriarchate and call for the immediate reopening of the Halki School of Theology. Failure to so will require me, under the law, to implement provisions of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. IRFA obligates the President to oppose violations of religious freedoms in any country whose government “engages in or tolerates violations of religious freedom and promote the right to religious freedom in that country.” IRFA further obligates the President to take one or more of 15 enumerated punitive actions with respect to any such country.

I will also call for the immediate return of the nearly 7,000 illegally confiscated properties from the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the Turkish government since 1936.

AEGEAN SEA

Turkey has made an outrageous claim to one-half of the Aegean Sea and has allowed its military jets to make numerous incursions into Greek airspace. These actions have intensified tensions between Greece and Turkey and present a clear threat to U.S. interests in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean.

The maritime boundary between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea was established by the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, the Italy-Turkey Protocol of December 28, 1932, the Italy-Turkey Convention of January 4, 1932, and the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947. The U.S. is a signatory to the Paris Peace Treaty – under which the Dodecanese Islands and adjacent islets were ceded by Italy to Greece – and is obligated to carry out its provisions.

I accept as law the treaty-defined demarcation of the maritime border between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, and I encourage Turkey to do the same or submit its claim to the International Court of Justice at The Hague for binding arbitration.

TURKEY POLICY

The U.S. must review its diplomatic policy regarding Turkey. The Turkish government has proven to be an unreliable ally in the war against Iraq, and it continues to illegally occupy Cyprus, a breech of the United Nations Charter and NATO Treaty. Turkey has also stifled the religious freedom of thousands of Greek Orthodox Christians since the 1970s – a cruel violation of a basic tenet of democracy.

Turkey is a U.S. ally in word only. In 2003, Turkey refused to allow the U.S. to use Turkish military bases to launch attacks against Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Turkey said it would do so only if the U.S. handed over $32 billion in aid. Was this the action of a friend? A Treasury official didn’t think so. He called it “extortion in the name of alliance.”

Turkey disappointed again in October, when the Turkish Parliament voted to allow Turkish Armed Forces to attack the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Iraq. The U.S. warned Turkey that the movement of troops into the region could destabilize the American-backed government in Baghdad and jeopardize supply lines to U.S. troops, but that didn’t dissuade Turkey.

There is also Turkey’s on-going refusal to remove its illegal troops and settlers from Cyprus. Since 1974, the year that Turkey invaded, Cyprus has been divided by a barbed wire fence and 43,000 occupation troops and 160 thousand Greek Cypriots have been denied access to their homes, businesses and lands. It is high-time that Turkey worked with Cyprus to create a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation of Cypriot people in a Cypriot state with a single sovereignty that respects the laws of the European Union as well as United Nations resolutions regarding Cyprus.

Given Turkey’s recent actions and its refusal to heed international law regarding Cyprus, the U.S. should announce strict economic sanctions against Turkey, as well as an arms embargo. The U.S. government must make it clear to Turkey that normal diplomatic relations will not resume between the two nations until Turkey removes 43,000 troops and 180,000 settlers from Cyprus, opens its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels and aircraft, and agrees to restore religious rights to Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey. This includes the reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki Patriarchal School of Theology near Istanbul.

It is time to prove Turkey’s allegiance to the U.S. and its citizens.

VISA WAIVER

I will immediately request that Greece be allowed to join the Visa Waiver Program.