[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).
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