Senate Bill sb2992

    Florida Senate - 2007        (NP)                      SR 2992

    By Senator Haridopolos





    26-2122B-07

  1                        Senate Resolution

  2         A resolution commending the people of Cyprus

  3         for their continued efforts toward a just

  4         resolution of the Cyprus problem and supporting

  5         the reunification of Cyprus.

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  7         WHEREAS, Florida first welcomed immigrants from Cyprus

  8  in the early part of the 20th century, and

  9         WHEREAS, Cypriot Americans thereafter settled in

10  communities around the metropolitan areas of Tampa and Miami

11  and throughout this state, and

12         WHEREAS, today Cypriot Americans are contributing and

13  prospering in business, in academia, and in various

14  professions in this state and across the United States, and

15         WHEREAS, Cyprus itself has been forcibly divided for

16  more than 33 years by the Turkish invasion and subsequent

17  occupation of the island since 1974, and

18         WHEREAS, the United States has expressed consistent

19  support for the reunification of Cyprus based on the rule of

20  law and has encouraged efforts toward a resolution that

21  respects the rights of all Cypriots, and

22         WHEREAS, Cyprus has a long history of working

23  cooperatively with the United States on issues of

24  international defense and security and is a long-time

25  strategic partner of the United States in the global war on

26  terrorism, and

27         WHEREAS, Cyprus was the first European Union Member

28  State to join President Bush's Proliferation Security

29  Initiative, an important step to battling the spread of

30  weapons of mass destruction, and

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    Florida Senate - 2007        (NP)                      SR 2992
    26-2122B-07




 1         WHEREAS, Cyprus plays a critical role in the security

 2  of the Eastern Mediterranean and in July 2006 extended

 3  assistance to more than 14,000 Americans who transited to

 4  Cyprus from Lebanon, and

 5         WHEREAS, Cyprus joined the European Union in May 2004,

 6  and its accession within the European Union is enlarging the

 7  scope of cooperation between Cyprus and the United States, and

 8         WHEREAS, the accession of Cyprus can act as a catalyst

 9  for a just and lasting settlement of the Cyprus problem that

10  is based on United Nations Resolutions and the values and

11  principles on which the European Union is founded, and

12         WHEREAS, Cyprus has supported the European orientation

13  of Turkey in its bid for European Union membership if Turkey

14  abides by principles, values, and norms required of all

15  countries seeking to join the European Union, and

16         WHEREAS, Cyprus is implementing a series of economic

17  and other measures that will benefit the Turkish Cypriots

18  living in the northern occupied territory of the country and,

19  as a result, has more than doubled the per capita income of

20  the Turkish Cypriot community to approximately $11,000, and

21         WHEREAS, since the partial lifting of the restrictions

22  along the cease-fire line, there have been more than 12

23  million incident-free crossings, and

24         WHEREAS, a lasting, just, peaceful, and mutually

25  agreed-upon solution to the Cyprus problem would greatly

26  benefit the security and the political, economic, and social

27  well-being of all Cypriots, as well as contribute to improved

28  relations between Greece and Turkey, and would serve the

29  United States' interests in the region, and

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    Florida Senate - 2007        (NP)                      SR 2992
    26-2122B-07




 1         WHEREAS, there has long been a strong friendship

 2  between the residents of this state and the people of Cyprus,

 3  NOW, THEREFORE,

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 5  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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 7         That the Senate commends the people of Cyprus for their

 8  continued efforts in search of a just resolution to the Cyprus

 9  problem and supports the reunification of Cyprus while fully

10  respecting the government of the Republic of Cyprus.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.