Cyprus Betrayed
Today, Cyprus is a forgotten issue.
Fifty years ago, a wounded President Nixon ceded his foreign policy to his appointed Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, so that he could focus on covering up the Watergate mess. Had Watergate never occurred, I doubt Nixon would have allowed Cyprus's betrayal to occur.
Acting unilaterally, Kissinger's direct actions resulted in Turkish military pilots flying American-made military aircraft and dropping American-made bombs, including napalm bombs, mainly on civilian targets, which terrorized and killed innocent Greek Cypriot civilians in Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, and elsewhere.
When our government violates our laws, it is our civic duty as citizens to demand that it cease to violate the rule of law. In essence, we failed in our responsibilities as citizens by not insisting that our government correct its unlawful behavior.
With Kissinger acting as a rogue commander-in-chief, American-made bombs were illegally dropped on our relatives. The Greek-American community did not sit idly by. We worked in support of the rule of law and American values. Our sole criteria was then and is now: “What is in the best interests of the U.S.?” We created the first national lobby for Americans of Greek descent. We initiated the rule of law embargo legislation in Congress in September 1974. After twelve votes, we succeeded in December 1974 in enacting the rule of law embargo legislation on arms to Turkey. We naively concluded that Congress would act accordingly. We were wrong. Kissinger had another agenda, and as a result, the Cyprus problem is still with us.
Fifty years later, Turkey continues to illegally occupy 37.3% of Cyprus, primarily in the northern part, and remains under the control of Turkish military forces. The ironically named Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command acts as the Turkish garrison in Cyprus. The invasion force consisted of 40,000 Turkish troops and 200 American-made tanks. The number of American-made tanks since the invasion has doubled. Since the invasion, Turkey has transferred over 90,000 illegal Turkish settlers and placed them in homes owned by Greek Cypriots who were killed in the invasion or forced to seek refuge in the southern part of Cyprus which remains under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.
Turkey is an albatross around the necks of NATO and the U.S. For too long, the U.S. and NATO have turned a blind eye to Turkey’s transgressions and cooperation with our enemies.
It is time for we the people to demand our government correct the unlawfulness of Kissinger’s violation of U.S. Laws in order to assist Turkey, a tenuous ally at best, by betraying Cyprus, a loyal ally.
