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SECRETARY CLINTON RECEIVES IMPORTANT CYPRUS COMMUNICATION SIGNED BY OVER 30% OF U.S. CONGRESSSECRETARY CLINTON RECEIVES IMPORTANT CYPRUS COMMUNICATION SIGNED BY OVER 30% OF U.S. CONGRESS WASHINGTON, DC, October 26, 2009 -- Today the U.S. Congress sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a letter signed by 132 Members of Congress expressing support for the Administration's efforts to avoid mistakes of failed efforts of the past in helping end the division and occupation of Cyprus. "This letter was signed by just under one-third of the entire U.S. Congress. According to the Library of Congress database, only three other foreign policy-related issues -- Iran , Cuba and the Armenian Genocide -- had more Members of Congress expressing such deep concern as cosponsors of resolutions," said Coordinated Effort of Hellenes (CEH) President Andrew Manatos. In addition to the large number of Members signing this letter, the importance of the singers was striking. Signers included the Chairmen and Ranking Republicans of the two Committees charged by the U.S. Congress with overseeing this issue in the House. As well, a majority of the two House subcommittees with jurisdiction over this region were also signers. A full list of the 132 Members of Congress who signed this letter is attached. CEH leaders thanked those Members of Congress who spearheaded this effort -- Representatives Albio Sires (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Ted Poe (R-TX), and Michael McMahon (D-NY) -- particularly because their colleagues look to them, as members of the Europe Subcommittee, for expertise on this issue. Manatos also thanked CEH board members and CEH members across the country who sacrificed greatly to personally educate many of these 132 signers, with whom they have a close relationship. Text of Letter These Congressional leaders expressed support for Secretary Clinton's efforts to "avoid the resurrection of settlement provisions like those of the 2004 UN effort." They noted that, "those provisions were overwhelmingly rejected and considered `unacceptable to western democracies' by a majority of the Senate European Affairs Subcommittee. You also recognized them recently as the cause for the plan's failure." They added that, "foreign advocacy of artificial deadlines and unacceptable settlement provisions contributed to the defeat of the 2004 settlement efforts." With regard to Turkey 's illegal occupation of Cyprus , these Congressional leaders said that, "No EU country could be expected to acquiesce to the occupation of a fellow EU member, much less to embrace the occupier as a member of the EU club. It is a virtual certainty that Turkey will never achieve its dream of EU membership as long as its troops continue to occupy Cyprus ." They supported efforts to "protect [today's Cypriot settlement negotiators] from foreign constraints and artificial timetables so that they can achieve a bi-communal, bizonal federation that adheres to UN resolutions." They concluded by stressing to the Secretary that, "To succeed, a settlement effort should be `of the Cypriots, by the Cypriots and for the Cypriots.'"
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