Ed Royce: “July 20 marks the 38th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of the island of Cyprus. That invasion claimed the lives of…”

“July 20 marks the 38th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of the island of Cyprus. That invasion claimed the lives of about 5,000 Cypriots. In the neighborhood of 200,000 people were forcibly expelled from their homes during that time period. To put that in perspective, that was one-third of the population of the country. If this were to happen in the United States, it would be the equivalent of about 100,000 people becoming refugees in their own land. As we stand here today, that occupation continues. There are over 30,000 Turkish troops on the island. They are stationed on over one- third of Cyprus. Sadly, that occupied area of this beautiful land is one of the most militarized areas in the world. I have seen this on both sides of that divide. It is truly tragic that despite the wishes of Cypriots on both sides of that line that this cannot be resolved. And the Cyprus-Turkey issue, unlike many others, is one that the international community has been able to agree on. There have been 75 resolutions adopted in the Security Council--more than 13 by the General Assembly--calling for the return of the refugees to their homes and to their properties and for the withdrawal of those Turkish troops from Cyprus. {time} 1110 President Demetris Christofias has followed through on his promise to make the solution of that problem his top priority.…”