119-hres17

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 17 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 17

Condemning Turkey for its illegal occupation of Cyprus and encouraging 
 President Trump to make the resolution of the Cyprus problem a top 
 foreign policy priority.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 7, 2025

Ms. Malliotakis (for herself, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Pappas, and Ms. Titus) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
 on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Condemning Turkey for its illegal occupation of Cyprus and encouraging 
 President Trump to make the resolution of the Cyprus problem a top 
 foreign policy priority.

Whereas Turkey has been a North Atlantic Treaty Organization

    (NATO) member since 
 1952 and is thus a treaty ally of the United States;
Whereas modern Turkey was founded upon the principles of republicanism and 
 laicite;
Whereas Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the authoritarian leader of 
 Turkey since 2003, has grounded his decision making in an extremist form 
 of religio-nationalism;
Whereas, under President Erdogan, Turkey seeks to establish itself as the 
 hegemon of the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Caucuses, 
 and as a result has taken provocative actions toward NATO allies, the 
 European Union, and the broader region;
Whereas President Erdogan's expansionist political ideology necessitates 
 aggression toward Cyprus;
Whereas the Government of Turkey ordered its military to invade the Republic of 
 Cyprus in 1974 in violation of the Treaty of Establishment, the Treaty 
 of Alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty, and the Treaty of Guarantee, 
 which established the Republic of Cyprus and guaranteed the independence 
 of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as the United Nations Charter and 
 customary international law;
Whereas the Government of Turkey has tolerated or abetted the desecration of 
 more than 500 Orthodox Christian churches and religious sites in the 
 territory of the Republic of Cyprus that the Turkish military occupies;
Whereas the Government of Turkey has brought in over 200,000 illegal settlers 
 into the occupied area of Cyprus to change the sociopolitical and 
 demographic fabric of the area, in violation of the Geneva Conventions;
Whereas Turkey is a member state of the European Court of Human Rights

    (ECHR) ;
Whereas the ECHR has issued decisions and judgments in which the Court confirms 
 that persons, including United States citizens, who hold title to real 
 property located in the area of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by the 
 Turkish military are the only rightful owners of that real property, but 
 Turkey has refused to comply with the ECHR judgment;
Whereas, despite having agreed to do so, the Government of Turkey has failed to 
 support international efforts to find and identify the remains of 
 persons, including four United States citizens who remain missing since 
 the Turkish invasion of the Republic of Cyprus in 1974;
Whereas Turkey illegally violates the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone;
Whereas President Erdogan has illegally reopened the beach in Varosha, a once-
 thriving tourist town which the Turkish military ethnically cleansed of 
 its Greek Cypriot population in 1974; and
Whereas President Erdogan has openly called for a ``two-state'' solution 
 regarding Cyprus, in violation of United Nations resolutions, 
 international law, and the position of the United States Government, 
 which is that a Cyprus solution should be within the framework of a 
 bizonal, bicommunal federation: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) strongly condemns Turkey's continued occupation of 
 Cyprus, and calls upon Turkey to immediately withdraw all of 
 its estimated 35,000 occupying troops from the island;

    (2) calls upon Turkey to adhere to the democratic 
 principles and mission of the North Atlantic Treaty 
 Organization;

    (3) reiterates that the settlement of the Cyprus problem 
 needs to be based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation in a 
 State with single sovereignty and international personality, 
 and that this entity should embrace constitutional democratic 
 norms and American principles, the European Union

    (EU) acquis 
 Communautaire and EU Founding Treaty, United Nations 
 resolutions on Cyprus, and pertinent decisions of the European 
 Court of Human Rights and other European courts;

    (4) calls on Turkey to cease and desist from its illegal 
 interference in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone;

    (5) calls on the Turkish Government to provide avenues for 
 American citizens to seek financial remedies or restitution for 
 their property losses in the Turkish-occupied territory of 
 Cyprus;

    (6) demands Turkey's cooperation in helping recover the 
 four American citizens who are still missing as a result of the 
 1974 invasion of Cyprus;

    (7) calls on Turkey to remove its over 200,000 illegal 
 settlers from Turkish-occupied Cyprus and assist in 
 repatriating Greek-Cypriot refugees to their ancestral homes; 
 and

    (8) encourages President Trump to make the resolution of 
 the Cyprus problem a top foreign policy priority for his 
 Administration.
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