Frank Pallone: “tonight I want to join my colleagues on the House floor, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentlewoman…”

“tonight I want to join my colleagues on the House floor, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), to remember a horrific act taken by Turkey against the citizens of Cyprus 28 years ago. On July 28, 1974, the nation of Turkey violated international law when it brutally invaded the sovereign Republic of Cyprus. Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of September 11 and the horrific acts of terror that were inflicted upon thousands of innocent Americans in New York and Washington, it is important that this Congress and the American people recognize the events in Cyprus 28 years ago as an act of terror. Turkey illegally used American-supplied airplanes, bombs, and tanks in an act of terror against the people of Cyprus. This terror did not end with the invasion of the island. Instead, more than 200,000 people were forcibly displaced from their homes and a large number of Cypriot people who were captured during the invasion are still missing today. Last year, the European Court of Human Rights rebuked the Turkish government when the court overwhelmingly found them guilty of massive human rights violations over the last 28 years in a scathing 146-page decision.”