CANA TO PICKET CYPRUS INVASION DENIERS, TURKISH COALITION OF AMERICA AND CONGRESSMAN WEXLER

For Immediate Release: July 3, 2008

WHERE: Dacor Bacon House, 1801 F St NW, Washington DC
WHEN: Monday, July 14th, 2008 7PM-9PM

WASHINGTON DC—The Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) will be picketing
outside the Turkish Coalition of America sponsored event celebrating Cyprus
invasion denier Congressman Robert Wexler in the DACOR BACON HOUSE in Washington
DC, on the evening of Monday, July 14th at 7PM.

Turkey’s international industry of denial is financed to the tune of millions of
dollars, vomited up from the stolen lands and thefts of our people, then poured
into the coffers of Turkish lobbies such as Turkish Coalition of America, which
recently announced the establishment of the “Turkish Anti-Defamation League”,
that mirrors the paranoia of Ankara’s racist anti-Cypriot conspiracies. Its
highlights include a call to import Turkey’s Cyprus invasion denial into this
country with an emphasis on the alleged “political power of Armenians, Greeks,
Greek Cypriots, or otherwise.”

Congressman Robert Wexler will be discussing and signing his new book,
FIRE-BREATHING LIBERAL, according to the Turkish Coalition invitation, “Wexler's
book focuses on his leading role in US foreign policy and highlights his efforts
to strengthen America's partnership with NATO ally Turkey…Since being elected in
1996, Wexler has led several high-level Congressional delegation trips to Turkey
meeting with leading Turkish political leaders to promote close US-Turkish
relations including former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, former President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul, military
leaders in the Turkish General Staff as well as leading Turkish business
organizations and Think Tanks.”

Former TMT Turkish terrorist leader, Denktash (who ruled the forces that
murdered Cypriot demonstrators ISSAK AND SOLOMOU) was one of the Turkish
political leaders Wexler met with while visiting illegally Occupied-Cyprus.
The Turkish Congressional Caucus was founded by Wexler, and in the past few
months, has ballooned to around eighty members, thanks largely to Wexler.

Wexler’s record is abysmal. His staffer flew illegally into the Tymbou airport
in Occupied Cyprus in August of 2005 with a Turkish sponsored congressional trip
which included pro-Turkish congressman Edward Whitfield (R-KY). The trip ignored
international law because the legal entry points of Cyprus are through Nicosia,
Paphos, Larnaca, or Limassol.

In a statement prominently displayed on the website of the “Turkish Coalition of
America”, Congressman Robert Wexler makes public his plans to legitimize
Turkey’s ongoing, illegal military-occupation of Cyprus: “We need to, in a
very dramatic way, increase America’s Turkish Cypriot relations. We should have
direct flights, have more economic development, push more recognition of Turkish
Cypriot interests in world affairs,” says Wexler.

In regards to Turkish atrocities in Cyprus, condemned by numerous UN
resolutions, and in violation of all human rights conventions, Congressman
Wexler has advanced false historical revisionism to absolve Turkey of any
responsibility for its crimes in Cyprus, following one of Wexler’s visits to the
illegal pseudo-regime in Turkish-occupied Cyprus, Wexler said “Unfortunately,
most people of the U.S. don’t know anything about Cyprus Those that do will
often understand it to be a Turkish attack, and not a response to a historical
effort to unify Cyprus with Greece. “ (“The New Anatolian” Turkey’s only
independent English- language daily, Monday April, 10th 2006)

Wexler never made a clear statement calling for troop reduction in Cyprus, he
wrote a letter last year, that like Turkey, vaguely calls for a solution, or
basically, he repeated Turkey’s Cyprus invasion denial party line, he wrote
"“Troop deployment on Cyprus seems to be disproportional – given the low threat
level facing Turkish-Cypriots”, Wexler said, adding that ''thirteen
million crossings of the Green Line have occurred without incident''.

If read carefully that letter basically reinforces Turkish arguments that Turkey
has “rights” to be there because of a "threat level facing Turkish Cypriots",
he's simply saying the threat level is “low”, but hasn't gone away, basically
Wexler reiterates the false historical revisionist "Peace Intervention"
argument of Turkey, that argues that Turkish military forces have a “right” to
intervene on Cypriot territory because of Turkish claims that Greek Cypriots
pose a “danger” or “threat level” to Turkish Cypriots, and is AGAIN Cyprus
invasion denying, no surprise, Genocide deniers are also Cyprus invasion
deniers.

The criminal Turkish invasion or land grab of Cyprus initiated by the Turkish
government on July 20, 1974, was inflicted on innocent Cypriot people by sheer,
brute force. Hundreds of thousands of Cypriots remain refugees following
Turkey’s systematic campaign of rapes, terror, bombings, burnings and forced
displacement. Over one thousand missing Cypriots, reportedly used for barbaric
scientific experiments by the Turks, remain unaccounted.

As the days draw near to the memorial date of July 20th, marking the Turkish
Crime of illegal invasion in Cyprus, we are making a moral call to picket Cyprus
invasion deniers, Cyprus Haters, and Turkish revisionist hate groups, --the time
has come to draw public attention to Turkey’s continuing crimes in Cyprus.

Our picket will also function as a teach-in, hundreds of t-shirts with the
slogans, SHAME ON WEXLER! SHAME ON TURKEY! CYPRIOTS WANT THEIR LAND BACK!
TURKISH TROOPS OUT OF CYPRUS! , will be distributed to passer-bys and
pedestrians, along with our educational pamphlet “Turkish Crimes”


It is imperative for Cypriots to demonstrate courage and picket these Cyprus
Haters. Please contact the CANA by email cana@cyprusactionnetwork.org for
details. Join the CANA and demand action. And be good, dedicated Cypriots with
courage. Spread our message and get involved.

With Love of Cyprus, Nikolaos Taneris,
Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA)
========================
Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA)
2578 Broadway #132
New York, NY 10025
New York: Tel. 917-699-9935
Email: cana@cyprusactionnetwork.org
www.cyprusactionnetwork.org