[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 179 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 179

   Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the human rights 
 situation in the Republic of Turkey in light of that country's desire 
to host the next summit meeting of the heads of state or government of 
    the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 28, 1997

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
Cardin, and Mr. Salmon) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the human rights 
 situation in the Republic of Turkey in light of that country's desire 
to host the next summit meeting of the heads of state or government of 
    the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Whereas the Republic of Turkey, because of its position at the crossroads of 
        Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East, is well 
        positioned to play a leading role in shaping developments in Europe and 
        beyond;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey has been a longstanding member of numerous 
        international organizations, including the Council of Europe (1949), the 
        North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1952), and the Organization for 
        Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975);
Whereas Turkey's President, Suleyman Demirel, was an original signer of the 1975 
        Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey proposed in late 1996 that Istanbul serve as the 
        venue for the next OSCE summit, a prestigious gathering of the heads of 
        state or government of countries in Europe, Central Asia, and North 
        America, including the United States;
Whereas a decision on the venue of the next OSCE summit will require the 
        consensus of all OSCE participating states, including the United States;
Whereas the OSCE participating states, including Turkey, have declared their 
        steadfast commitment to democracy based on human rights and fundamental 
        freedoms, the protection and promotion of which is the first 
        responsibility of government;
Whereas the development of genuine democracy in Turkey is undermined by ongoing 
        violations of international humanitarian law as well as other human 
        rights obligations and commitments, including provisions of the Helsinki 
        Final Act and other OSCE documents, by which Turkey is bound;
Whereas the Department of State has found that serious human rights problems 
        persist in Turkey and that human rights abuses have not been limited to 
        the southeast, where Turkey has engaged in an armed conflict with the 
        terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for over a decade;
Whereas flagrant violations of OSCE standards and norms continue and the 
        problems raised by the United States Delegation at the November 1996 
        OSCE Review Meeting in Vienna persist;
Whereas expert witnesses at a 1997 briefing of the Commission on Security and 
        Cooperation in Europe (in this concurrent resolution referred to as the 
        ``Helsinki Commission'') underscored the continued, well-documented, and 
        widespread use of torture by Turkish security forces and the failure of 
        the Government of Turkey to take determined action to correct such gross 
        violations of OSCE provisions and international humanitarian law;
Whereas the Government of Turkey continues to use broadly the Anti-Terror Law 
        and Article 312 of the Criminal Code against writers, journalists, 
        publishers, politicians, musicians, and students;
Whereas the Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded that more journalists 
        are currently jailed in Turkey than in any other country in the world;
Whereas the Government of Turkey has pursued an aggressive campaign of 
        harassment of nongovernmental organizations, including the Human Rights 
        Foundation of Turkey; branch offices of the Human Rights Association in 
        Diyarbakir, Malatya, Izmir, Konya, and Urfa have been raided and closed; 
        and Turkish authorities continue to persecute the members of 
        nongovernmental organizations who attempt to assist the victims of 
        torture;
Whereas four former parliamentarians from the now banned Kurdish-based Democracy 
        Party (DEP) Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan, and Selim Sadak remain 
        imprisoned at Ankara's Ulucanlar Prison and among the actions cited in 
        Zana's indictment was her 1993 appearance before the Helsinki Commission 
        in Washington, D.C.;
Whereas the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has expressed concern over the 
        case of human rights lawyer Hasan Dogan, a member of the People's 
        Democracy Party (HADEP), who like many members of the party, has been 
        subject to detention and prosecution;
Whereas many human rights abuses have been committed against Kurds who assert 
        their Kurdish identity, and Kurdish institutions, such as the Kurdish 
        Cultural and Research Foundation, have been targeted for closure;
Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate has repeatedly requested permission to 
        reopen the Orthodox seminary on the island of Halki closed by the 
        Turkish authorities since the 1970s despite Turkey's OSCE commitment to 
        ``allow the training of religious personnel in appropriate 
        institutions'';
Whereas members of other minority religions or beliefs, including Armenian and 
        Syrian Orthodox believers, as well as Roman Catholics, Armenian, 
        Chaldean, Greek and Syrian Catholics, and Protestants have faced various 
        forms of discrimination and harassment;
Whereas the closing of the border with Armenia by Turkey in 1993 remains an 
        obstacle to the development of mutual understanding and confidence, and 
        friendly and good-neighborly relations between those OSCE participating 
        states;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey has repeatedly rebuffed offers by the Chair-in-
        Office of the OSCE to dispatch a personal representative to Turkey for 
        purposes of assessing developments in that country;
Whereas, despite the fact that a number of Turkish civilian authorities remain 
        publicly committed to the establishment of rule of law and to respect 
        for human rights, torture, excessive use of force, and other serious 
        human rights abuses by the security forces continue; and
Whereas the Government of Turkey has failed to meaningfully address these and 
        other human rights concerns since it first proposed to host the next 
        OSCE summit and thereby has squandered this opportunity to demonstrate 
        its determination to improve implementation of Turkey's OSCE 
        commitments: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the privilege and prestige of hosting a summit of the 
        heads of state or government of the Organization for Security 
        and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should be reserved for 
        participating states that have demonstrated in word and in deed 
        steadfast support for Helsinki principles and standards, 
        particularly respect for human rights;
            (2) the United States should refuse to give consensus to 
        any proposal that Turkey serve as the venue for a summit 
        meeting of the heads of state or government of OSCE countries 
        until the Government of Turkey has demonstrably improved 
        implementation of its freely undertaken OSCE commitments, 
        including action to address those human rights concerns 
        enumerated in the preamble of this resolution;
            (3) the United States should encourage the development of 
        genuine democracy in the Republic of Turkey based on protection 
        of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and
            (4) the President of the United States should report to 
        Congress not later than April 15, 1998, on any improvement in 
        the actual human rights record in Turkey, including 
        improvements in that country's implementation of provisions of 
        the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE documents.
    Sec. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a 
copy of this concurrent resolution to the President of the United 
States.
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