Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the illegal occupation of nearly 40 per cent of the island of Cyprus by Turkish military forces.
Canada has played an important peacekeeping role in helping to bring about a solution to the Cyprus issue. Unfortunately, the problem continues to this day.
This week, I participated with three fellow members of this House in the 5th international conference of PSEKA Cyprus in Washington, D.C. For those three days, we had the opportunity to talk about Cyprus with several senators and members of the U.S. Congress. As we did 20 years ago, we all agreed that the problem of Cyprus has gone unresolved for too long.
To this day, 35,000 Turkish troops continue to occupy the island. Thousands remain displaced from their homes. Over 1,500 people are missing. Rights of free movement and ownership have yet to be re-established on the entire island.
I call upon the government to continue to support the UN resolutions and help to bring about a final resolution to this problem. It is time the human rights and freedoms of all citizens of Cyprus were guaranteed and respected. Enough is enough, thank you.