At a Capitol Hill hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC), expert witnesses detailed the declining human rights situation in Northern Cyprus since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rose to power 23 years ago.

                “During these 23 years, no territory neighboring Turkey has provided a clearer window into Erdoğan’s worldview, his ambitions, and his approach to power than Cyprus,” said Smith during his opening statement. “Cyprus serves as an important object lesson as we assess Erdoğan’s intentions toward Greece, Armenia, Israel, Syria, Iraq, and even parts of the Balkans and Europe. What we see in his Cyprus policy is not reassuring.” 

                With the Ankara NATO Summit slated to take place next week—July 7^th and 8^th—Smith stressed the need to thoroughly scrutinize Erdoğan’s disgraceful record on human rights, noting that the Turkish President’s decisions have “reshaped the island, weakened the prospects for reconciliation, undermined the rights of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and offer an important window into how [he] exercises power beyond Turkey’s borders.”

                The Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the United States, His Excellency Evangelos Savva, testified about how Erdoğan’s policies have led to the continued displacement of almost 1/3 of the population of Cyprus and the illegal usurpation of these displaced persons’ property rights; the ongoing harassment and intimidation of the enclaved population in occupied areas; the continued desecration and destruction of cultural sites; and the illegal settlement of occupied areas.

The second panel of witnesses testify at the TLHRC’s June 30th hearing, entitled “Human Rights in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus: Erdoğan’s Record & Its Implications for the Ankara NATO Summit.” From left to right: Michael Rubin, Savas Tsivicos, and Sinan Ciddi.

                Ambassador Savva further explained that “the gross violations of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, regardless of ethnic or religious background, are the direct result of the two phases of the Turkish military invasion in July and August of 1974 and subsequent, ongoing occupation of more than 36% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.”

                Savas Tsivicos—the Alternate President of the International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus, the former Supreme President of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, and a Monmouth County, NJ resident—reiterated and expanded upon these points, arguing that “more than five decades after Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus in 1974, 52 years to be exact, the island remains occupied, and many of the core human rights issues arising from that division remain unresolved.

                “As Turkey seeks to present itself as a responsible actor within the transatlantic alliance, its conduct in Cyprus exposes a persistent contradiction between its stated commitments and its actions on the ground. A nation cannot credibly claim leadership within NATO while disregarding international law, undermining the sovereignty of a fellow European state, and pursuing policies that perpetuate division, instability, and the denial of fundamental rights,” Tsivicos continued.

                After Ambassador Savva and Tsivicos delivered compelling testimony about the worsening state of human rights in Northern Cyprus, Michael Rubin, the Director of Policy Analysis at the Middle East Forum, and Sinan Ciddi, the Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Turkey Program, provided strong recommendations for U.S. Congress on how to approach foreign policy with Turkey.

                Rubin—who provided an extensive overview of Erdoğan’s foreign policy in Cyprus and the region at large—recommended that the State Department “state clearly that Turkey illegally occupies Cyprus,” “only grant Turkish Cypriots visas to the United States on Cypriot passports,” and “shutter any Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus offices in the United States.”

                Rubin also stressed that the U.S. must hold Turkey accountable for its financial irregularities and money laundering in Northern Cyprus, as well as pressure the United Kingdom to abandon its Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus.

                “The best diplomacy is bipartisan, rooted in moral clarity and respect for human rights and backed, when necessary, by force. It is time to make ending Turkey’s illegal occupation of Cyprus and, for that matter, portions of Syria and Iraq, core components of U.S. foreign policy,” he concluded.

                In a like manner, Ciddi emphasized that “the NATO summit in Ankara should not become a platform that launders Erdogan’s record” and that the U.S. should hold Turkey accountable for its egregious human rights abuses in Norther Cyprus during the transatlantic meeting.

Rep. Smith, Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, questions witnesses during the June 30th hearing on human rights in Turkish-occupied Cyprus.

                Ciddi argued that the U.S. should push Turkey to publicly recognize the established sovereign borders of Cyprus and Greece; maintain CAATSA sanctions and Section 1245 restrictions; investigate whether Turkey’s deployment of U.S.-origin F-16s to occupied Cyprus violated end-user agreements and ITAR restrictions; treat Turkey’s behavior as a NATO-wide concern; hold Ankara accountable for its sanctuary to Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood networks and scrutinize Turkey’s role in weapons transfers and paramilitary operations from Sudan to the Horn of Africa; press for Turkey’s return to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list; and require the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to report on religious freedom violations in occupied Cyprus under its chapter on Turkey.

                “The summit Turkey hosts will showcase a Turkey that does not exist — a loyal Western ally devoted to common defense,” said Ciddi. “The real Turkey is a state pursuing strategic autonomy in order to advance revisionist and irredentist goals that undermine American, European, and Israeli security, and that is precisely why it courts Western technology while deepening its ties to Russia, China, and Hamas.

                “The gap between Erdogan’s marketing and his conduct is wide, and the cost of failing to recognize it will be borne by the very allies—Greece, Cyprus, and Israel—whose security the transatlantic alliance is meant to guarantee.”

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