[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 796 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 796

Condemning the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for its ongoing terrorist 
             attacks against Turkey and the Turkish people.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 5, 2007

 Mr. Wexler (for himself, Mr. Hastings of Florida, and Mr. Whitfield) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for its ongoing terrorist 
             attacks against Turkey and the Turkish people.

Whereas the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was founded by Abdullah Ocalan in 
        1974 as a Marxist-Leninist separatist organization aspiring to establish 
        an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey;
Whereas in 1984, the PKK launched a campaign of violence against Turkey that has 
        resulted in more than 37,000 deaths in the past 23 years;
Whereas the primary targets of the PKK have been, according to the Department of 
        State's Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, ``Turkish government security 
        forces, local Turkish officials and villagers who oppose the 
        organization in Turkey'';
Whereas in 1993 and 1995, the PKK perpetrated attacks on Turkish diplomatic and 
        commercial facilities in numerous Western European cities;
Whereas in 1999, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured by Turkish authorities 
        in Kenya with the assistance of the United States, and transferred to 
        Turkey for imprisonment and a trial;
Whereas in 1999, Abdullah Ocalan declared a ``peace initiative'' and ordered his 
        followers to refrain from violence against Turkey and advocated for 
        dialogue with the Turkish government on issues pertaining to the Kurdish 
        community;
Whereas the PKK foreswore violence from 1999 until June 2004, when, according to 
        the Department of State's Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, ``... [the] 
        hard-line militant wing took control and renounced the self-imposed 
        cease-fire of the previous five years. Striking over the border from 
        bases within Iraq, the PKK also known as Kurdistan Society Congress 
        (Kongra-Gel or KGK), engaged in terrorist attacks in eastern and western 
        Turkey.'';
Whereas in October 1997, the Secretary of State designated the PKK as a foreign 
        terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189);
Whereas in October 1999, October 2001, and January 2004, the Secretary of State 
        redesignated the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to 
        section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and designated as 
        foreign terrorist organizations the following affiliated organizations 
        under the auspices of the PKK: the Kurdistan People's Congress (KHK), 
        the People's Congress of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Society Congress 
        (Kongra-Gel or KGK), the Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan, 
        and Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK);
Whereas in April 2004, the European Union (EU) designated the KGK as a terrorist 
        organization;
Whereas Turkish authorities have confirmed or suspect that the PKK is 
        responsible for dozens of terrorist attacks since 2004 that have 
        primarily targeted Turkish military officials and foreign tourists in 
        western Turkey;
Whereas terrorist attacks perpetrated by the PKK since 2004 have killed or 
        injured more than 2,000 Turkish civilians and military officials, as 
        well as foreign tourists;
Whereas the Department of State's Country Reports on Terrorism 2006 states that 
        the PKK is comprised of approximately 4,000 to 5,000 members, 3,500 of 
        which are currently located in northern Iraq;
Whereas in August 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed General 
        Joseph W. Ralston (USAF, Ret.) Special Envoy for Countering the 
        Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), responsible for ``coordinating U.S. 
        engagement with the Government of Turkey and the Government of Iraq to 
        eliminate the terrorist threat of the PKK and other terrorist groups 
        operating in Northern Iraq and across the Turkey-Iraq border'';
Whereas the Department of State emphasized in its August 28, 2006, press 
        statement that the appointment of General Ralston as Special Envoy for 
        Countering the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) ``... underscores the 
        commitment of the United States to work with Turkey and Iraq to 
        eliminate terrorism in all its forms'';
Whereas a Congressional letter was sent to President George W. Bush on October 
        6, 2006, urging him to deter PKK terrorism emanating from Northern Iraq;
Whereas on March 15, 2007, General Ralston stated before the House Foreign 
        Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe, ``The continued ability of 
        this terrorist group to operate from Iraqi territory is a threat to 
        regional security and an impediment to improvements in the lives of 
        people on both sides of the border.'';
Whereas on Friday, November 2, 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a 
        joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan stated 
        ``We consider this (the PKK) a common threat, not just to the interests 
        of Turkey but to the interests of the United States as well. This is 
        going to take persistence and it's going to take commitment--this is a 
        very difficult problem.''; and
Whereas the United States and the Republic of Turkey share a longstanding 
        partnership strengthened by their commitment to democracy, military 
        alliance in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and close 
        cooperation in the war on terror: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms its steadfast support for United States-
        Turkish relations;
            (2) condemns, in the strongest terms, the unconscionable 
        terrorist attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) against 
        the Turkish people;
            (3) reaffirms the support of the United States for Turkey's 
        right to self-defense;
            (4) urges President Bush to appoint a new United States 
        Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers' Party 
        (PKK);
            (5) urges the Bush Administration to take direct, concrete 
        and immediate action to prevent the PKK from using bases in 
        northern Iraq to carry out attacks against the people and 
        Government of Turkey;
            (6) calls on the United Nations Security Council to condemn 
        the horrific terrorist acts perpetrated by the PKK;
            (7) urges the national Government of Iraq to take concrete 
        steps to remove the PKK from Iraqi territory;
            (8) calls on Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq 
        to take concrete, definitive and immediate action against the 
        PKK by closing down PKK military bases in the Qandil mountains 
        in northern Iraq and prevent further cross border attacks from 
        northern Iraq into Turkey; and
            (9) urges the Secretary of State to designate the Kurdish 
        Freedom Hawks (TAK) as an organization affiliated with the PKK 
        on the list of foreign terrorist organizations pursuant to 
        section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1189).
                                 <all>