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Cyprus ambassador urges U.S. to press Turkey over occupation ahead of NATO summit
Summary
Ambassador Evangelos Sava told the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission that Turkey's occupation of northern Cyprus has produced displacement, property seizures, desecration of cultural sites and 746 missing people, and he urged persistent U.S. pressure as NATO leaders prepare to meet in Ankara.
Ambassador Evangelos Sava, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the United States, told the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission that the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus has produced "abysmal" human-rights conditions and urged U.S. and allied leaders to press Ankara ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara.
Sava outlined six core concerns, saying the occupation has produced large-scale displacement, "the unabated illegal usurpation of property rights," daily harassment of enclaved Greek Cypriots, the unresolved fate of 746 missing persons, repeated desecration and looting of churches and cemeteries, and an active settlement policy aimed at changing the island's demographic makeup. "What you will hear today from expert witnesses ... will, I'm certain, both shock and horrify," he said.
Why it matters: commissioners said the timing is critical because NATO leaders will gather in Ankara in early July, and Turkey's conduct in Cyprus is, they argued, a test of alliance values. "As NATO leaders prepare to gather in Ankara, that record deserves careful scrutiny," the commission's co-chair said.
Several witnesses and members called attention to the practical effects on people living in occupied areas. Sava described how the enclaved population has dwindled from roughly 20,000 in 1974 to a few hundred today and said many face restrictions on worship and property claims. He also said families continue to seek closure on missing relatives; "we are down to 746," he said, and asserted that there is credible evidence of mass graves in areas controlled by the Turkish military.
Commissioners and witnesses discussed international legal avenues and responses, including rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and repeated United Nations Security Council resolutions that call for a single Cypriot state with political equality between communities. Members urged bipartisanship in pressing for a settlement grounded in those resolutions and asked the administration not to normalize the status quo.
Quotes from the hearing captured the tone of urgency. "The occupation is a stain on the international system," a commission member said, and the ambassador urged that the issue not be sidelined while leaders pursue other strategic objectives.
Next steps: commissioners said they will forward testimony and recommendations to the State Department and key congressional offices and pursue follow-up hearings, including proposals to invite family members of missing people to testify and to investigate reported mass graves. The hearing produced no formal actions or votes.
The hearing took place at a House commission session convened to brief members on human-rights issues in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus; witnesses included policy analysts and Cypriot-American community leaders who provided historical context and policy recommendations.
