Sean Patrick Maloney: “I first of all want to thank very much the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Bilirakis] for organizing this special order to…”

“I first of all want to thank very much the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Bilirakis] for organizing this special order to celebrate Greek independence day. I am very fortunate and very pleased and privileged to represent Astoria, NY, one of the largest and most vibrant communities of Greek and Cypriot Americans in this country. It is truly one of my greatest pleasures as a Member of Congress to be able to participate in the life of this community, and the wonderful and vital Greek American friends that I have come to know are one of its greatest rewards. March 25, 1996, will mark the 175th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek War of Independence. From the fall of Constantinople in 1453, until the Declaration of Independence in 1821, almost 400 years, Greece remained under the heel of the Ottoman Empire. During that time, the people were deprived of all civil rights. Schools and churches were closed down and many were forced to convert to the Moslem religion. One hundred seventy-five years ago, the Greek people were able to resume their rightful place as an ideal of democracy for the rest of the western world.”