Kendra S. Horn: “Mr. Speaker, this past weekend marked the 22d anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Once again, this body marks…”

“Mr. Speaker, this past weekend marked the 22d anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Once again, this body marks an annual remembrance of the suffering of the Cypriot people and the division of Cyprus. Following a long investigation, the European Commission of Human Rights concluded that there were "very strong indications" of killings "committed on a substantial scale" by the Turkish Army during its invasion. Actions by Turks and Turkish Cypriots included wholesale and repeated rapes of women of all ages, systematic torture, savage and humiliating treatment of hundreds of people, including children, women, pensioners, during their detention by the Turkish forces, as well as looting and robbery on an extensive scale by Turkish troops and Turkish Cypriots. It is because of these atrocities that the world has held the Turkish occupation of one-third of Cyprus in scorn and contempt. Turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." The government of Turkey must accept that its actions in Cyprus are simply wrong, and its continued presence as an occupying force is illegitimate.”