"This week marks the 30th anniversary of the illegal military occupation by Turkish military forces over a section of the island of Cyprus.

"It was thirty years ago, July 20, 1974, when Turkey illegally invaded the island nation, occupying 37 percent of the territory and forcing nearly 200,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. These Greek Cypriots became refugees in their own country, and have remained refugees for the past three decades.

"Earlier this year, Cyprus became a member of the European Union of families as a divided and occupied nation. Greek Cypriots rejected an unfair reunification plan proposed by United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan.

"One of the main reasons that the proposal was defeated is the fact that the Annan Plan would grossly subvert the legitimate property rights of Cypriots. One of the most pernicious effects of the illegal Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus is that the rightful owners of real property there continue to be excluded from their property by the Turkish military. These rightful owners include many U.S. citizens.

"The Annan Plan proposed a highly complicated and uncertain way of resolving property issues and would have compelled many of the rightful owners to accept an illusory form of compensation in the form of bonds issued by the federal Cypriot government, which is not obligated to guarantee this obligation. This proposal could result in the rightful property owners being forced against their will to relinquish their property rights without adequate compensation. This proposal violated the European Convention on Human Rights and international law, and was one of the main reasons that the Greek-Cypriots rejected the Annan proposal.

"Compounding the illegality of the property proposal, the Annan Plan proposed that applications filed in the European Court of Human Rights be nullified and deemed settled by virtue of the property proposal under the Annan Plan. This essentially means that the "federal Cypriot government" would unilaterally deprive any person claiming rightful title to property of rights guaranteed under the European Court of Human Rights. While it is inconceivable that the European Court of Human Rights would enforce such a proposal, the fact that it is in the Annan Plan further undermines the credibility of the plan amongst Greek-Cypriots.

"The property proposal also makes no provision to reimburse the rightful property owners for the loss of use of their property for the past 30 years. Instead, the property proposal requires the rightful property owners to seek such reimbursement from the "Greek Cypriot constituent state" rather than from the actual instigator of the initial action 30 years ago that created today's situation, which is Turkey.

"This means that the rightful property owners can only be reimbursed from the revenues of the "Greek Cypriot constituent state" which are composed of the taxes paid by these very same rightful property owners. This simply does not make any sense. It constitutes an egregious subversion of the rights of lawful property owners on the island, and is one of the main reasons why the Greek-Cypriots rejected the final Annan Plan.

"After 30 years of division all of the people of Cyprus want to be reunified. Greek and Turkish Cypriots can again live in peace but need continued international support---support, which does not set off one group against the other. In June, I joined ninety-three of my House colleagues in sending letters to both President Bush and Secretary General Annan urging them both to look at the legitimate concerns that Greek Cypriots had with the Annan Plan. It's important that neither the Bush administration nor the United Nations blame Cyprus for practicing its democratic right to vote.

"It's important that both the Bush administration and the United Nations also remember the history of this 30-year struggle----a history in which some 1,500 Greek Cypriots, including four Americans of Cypriot descent, have been missing for the last 30 years. And a history in which only one nation, Turkey, recognizes the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."

"It's time the two sides come together once again to begin the process of crafting a final proposal that is acceptable to all of the people of Cyprus. The Cyprus problem has existed for too long, and must come to an end soon."