110 HRES 796 IH: Condemning the Kurdistan Workers’ Party U.S. House of Representatives 2007-11-05 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 796 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

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).