Occupation of Cyprus enters 34th year

On July 20, 1974, Turkey launched a massive military invasion of Cyprus, a tiny island-nation in the Mediterranean Sea.

Turkey used American-made jet fighters and bombers sold to Turkey by the United States for "defensive purposes" to attack Cyprus, a clear violation of U.S. law.

It would not be the last time Turkey would thumb its nose at America.
More than 6,000 Greek-Cypriots (almost all civilians) were killed by the Turks and another 1,600 disappeared behind Turkish lines. Thirty-four years later, there still has not been an accounting by Turkey of the whereabouts of 1,300 men, 116 women and 133 children trapped behind the advancing Turkish army.

The invasion of a defenseless Cyprus lasted a few weeks, but Turkish troops managed to drive out nearly 200,000 Greek-Cypriots from their homes in the northern part of the island. One of every three Cypriots became a refugee overnight in their own country.

Turkish troops set up what became known as the "Attila Line" with 35,000 troops remaining on the island to prevent Greek-Cypriots from returning to their ancestral homes. Turkey continues to occupy 37 percent of Cyprus. The Turkish population of Cyprus was about 18 percent in 1974.

Turkey eventually set up a puppet regime known as the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," recognized by only one nation — Turkey.

Over the past 34 years, more than 120,000 Muslim settlers have been brought from mainland Turkey to occupied Cyprus, forever changing the ethnic and religious balance of a Christian nation that once hosted the Apostle Paul, who preached on Cyprus during his first missionary journey. Paul converted the Roman governor of Cyprus during his visit, establishing Cyprus as the first nation in the world to be governed by a Christian.

The invasion of Cyprus and the annexation of the northern third of the island by Turkey have been condemned repeatedly by the United Nations, but Turkey continues to ignore U.N. resolutions to leave Cyprus.

Relations between the United States and Greece have been strained since the 1974 invasion. And our so-called ally, Turkey, has repeatedly turned its back to U.S. requests to use its air space and U.S.-built military bases in turkey for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 60,000 American soldiers were scheduled to invade Iraq from the north in 2003 to prevent the escape of Saddam Hussein's army and sectarian militias, but Turkey refused to grant the U.S. permission to use its air space for the assault.

As a result of Turkey's decision, American soldiers are still dying in Iraq at the hands of fighters who escaped the 2003 invasion. Inexplicably, billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic aid flow into Turkey each year. The top three beneficiaries of U.S. foreign aid are Israel, Egypt and Turkey.

Every American president since the 1974 invasion has pledged to find a peaceful resolution of the Cyprus problem, but every single president — Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — has failed to persuade the Turks to leave Cyprus.

The United States has always maintained a double standard when it comes to Turkey. The U.S. criticizes North Korea and Iran for human rights violations and aggressive actions against their neighbors, but will not do the same with Turkey, which has openly violated U.S. law and repeatedly thumbed its nose at both the U.S. and U.N.

Had Turkey consented to allow the U.S. to open a second front against Saddam's forces during the 2003 invasion, thousands of Saddam loyalists — the insurgents who continue to kill American soldiers in Iraq — would have been captured or killed. Instead, they fled the advancing U.S. forces from the south and set up for the guerrilla warfare we now see in Iraq. Every time an American soldier dies in Iraq, Turkey has blood on its hands.

The only just solution to the Cyprus problem is the withdrawal of all Turkish troops from the island, the removal of the illegal Turkish settlers and the return of the Greek-Cypriots to their ancestral homes.

The only way to force Turkey to comply with U.S. and international law is to stop sending American tax dollars to Turkey. Write to your congressman and ask why billions of U.S. tax dollars are being spent to support an outlaw nation like Turkey.

For more information about the invasion and occupation of Cyprus, I recommend the following Web sites: www.lobbyforcyprus.org and www.kypros.org and The Cyprus Conflict.