AHEPA RESOLUTION

Cyprus It is hereby resolved that: We call upon the Administration to honor its pre-election pledges by recognizing that: The Cyprus problem is fundamentally a question of invasion and occupation by Turkish armed forces with the illegal use of American-supplied arms and equipment.

There is no legal difference between Turkey's invasion and occupation of Cyprus and Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

There is no legal difference between Serbia's ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Turkey's ethnic cleansing in Cyprus. Negotiations have failed to produce a settlement because of the faulty approach adopted by the U.S. since 1974 that Cyprus is a traditional diplomatic problem where "meet-in-the-middle" negotiations involving compromises by each side can solve the problem. Despite compromises made by Cyprus, Turkey has not reciprocated.

To break the deadlock, the U.S. must follow a realistic approach based on the fundamentally clear and straightforward issues underlying the Cyprus problem. These are:
The Cyprus problem is one of aggression and illegal occupation by Turkey;
The Republic of Cyprus is the victim of Turkey's aggression and illegal occupation; and
For 25 years Turkey has violated the will of the United States and the United Nations to cease its illegal occupation of Cyprus and not to recognize or give any other assistance to the illegally occupied areas. Instead, it has reinforced its forces there and illegally sent Turkish settlers there.

We call upon the Administration to acknowledge that the United States bears a national responsibility for the Cyprus tragedy. Speaking publicly in Nicosia on November 11, 1997, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke described U.S. actions in 1974 as "shameful".

At a Capitol Hill conference on Cyprus on June 10, 1998 Ambassador Tom Boyatt, the State Department's Cyprus Desk Officer in 1974, stated that, "a Cyprus solution is possible if the U.S. steps up to its responsibilities and remembers its own guilt. So we have a redemption factor here."

In 1974, the U.S. encouraged the illegal coup against President Makarios by the Greek junta leader General Ioannides;
In July and August 1974 the U.S. encouraged Turkey to invade Cyprus and then to seize a further 35% of the island;
In its illegal 1974 invasion Turkey illegally used arms supplied by the U.S.; and
Following the invasion the U.S. failed to apply to Turkey the provisions of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act mandating the immediate halt in U.S. aid to an instigator of aggression.

In recognition of these facts the Administration should now:
State that it is ending its current approach and that future talks will take place on the basis of restoring the status quo ante and the rule of law as it applied before Turkey's 1974 illegal invasion;
Identify Turkey as the responsible party for the Cyprus problem;
Demand that Turkey complies immediately with all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions;
Demand an immediate restoration of constitutional government for all of Cyprus based on majority rule, the rule of law, and protection of minority rights;
Demand an immediate withdrawal of the illegal Turkish occupation forces from Cyprus;
Insist on the immediate demilitarization of the island, including a strengthened U.N. peacekeeping force with adequate authority;
Institute a realistic diplomatic approach including coercive measures against Turkey such as sanctions and denial of assistance from the international financial institutions in the event of Turkish non-compliance or any further violation of international law in Cyprus;
Support Cyprus sovereign right of self-defense, a basic rule of international public law enshrined in the U.N. charter;
Recognize that Mr. Denktash is not the key, but under the Turkish constitution the Turkish military controls foreign policy and national security. Consequently, the

Administration should concentrate its efforts on the Turkish military;
Pressure Turkey to abandon its military-dominated approach to Cyprus;
Condemn Turkey's measures to incorporate the occupied areas of Cyprus in violation of the U.N. Charter and Security Council Resolutions; and
Initiate a critical review of U.S. policy toward Turkey and, if Turkish intransigence continues, apply a coercive strategy of sanctions. We call upon the Administration to support the application of Cyprus to accede to the E.U. without any linkage to Turkey.

We call upon the Administration to insist that Turkey comply with the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the matter of Loizidou vs. Turkey. Finally, we call upon the Administration to take action to bring about:

The removal of all illegal Turkish colonists from Cyprus and a census of the illegal Turkish colonists under U.N. auspices;
The restoration to their original condition of the churches illegally converted to mosques in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention; and
The speedy return of the occupied areas of Morphou and Famagusta/Varosha to the government of Cyprus under United Nations auspices and for the immediate resettlement of refugees. In the event that Turkey does not act in accordance with these requirements, we call upon the Administration to take measures, including sanctions, to force Turkey to accede to the demands of the United States and the international community.