[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY IN TURKEY

                                 ______


                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 22, 1994

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, there has been much discussion 
about the future of democracy in Turkey. In a March 14, 1994, 
Washington Times editorial, Turkey's Ambassador to the United States 
points out that Turkey's fight against the terrorist PKK should not be 
viewed as a threat to democracy. The Marxist-Leninist, PKK has murdered 
thousands of civilians, many of whom are Kurds who were unwilling to 
support their terrorist agenda, in an effort to carve a Kurdish state 
out of the sovereign territory of Turkey.
  I also believe that it is important not to confuse Kurds who have 
been oppressed under the rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and those who 
reside in Turkey. As Ambassador Nuzhet Kandemir explains in his 
editorial, ``Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin live throughout Turkey 
and participate without discrimination in all walks of life.'' ``Kurds 
have served as presidents and prime ministers of the Republic of 
Turkey'' and currently, ``they serve in large numbers in Parliament,'' 
he adds. While it is natural to be sympathetic to the plight of Kurds 
in Iraq, I must emphasize that the terrorist activities of the PKK do 
not have the support of the great majority of Turkish citizens of 
Kurdish origin.
  For those Members of Congress who want a realistic picture of PKK 
terrorism in Turkey, and who want to know about some of the positive 
steps which Turkey has taken to benefit its citizens of Kurdish origin, 
I highly recommend Ambassador Kandemir's editorial.

               [From the Washington Times, Mar. 14, 1994]

              Turkey Has a Right to Protect Its Democracy

                          (By Nuzhet Kandemir)

       Recent press commentary, such as Sen. Dennis DeConcini's 
     (Op-Ed, March 8) has expressed anxiety about the future of 
     democracy in Turkey. Democracy has been a rare, precious and 
     often fragile institution throughout human history, so 
     attentive concern for its preservation is always in order. 
     But it is not correct to view. Turkey's fight against 
     terrorist criminals as a sign of democracy in danger. On the 
     contrary, true danger would be signified if a democratic 
     government were unwilling or unable to protect its country's 
     territorial integrity or its citizen's human rights from the 
     depredations of a terrorist organization.
       A much-misconstrued event has prompted some of the current 
     concerns: The vote of the General Assembly of the Turkish 
     Parliament on March 2 and 3 to lift the immunity of eight 
     Turkish parliamentarians. The vote, taken pursuant to the 
     legal process prescribed in the republic's constitution, 
     occurred in connection with judicial investigations of 
     charges that the eight individuals have engaged in activities 
     against the country's constitutional democratic system and 
     its territorial integrity. The issue is not the political 
     views the parliamentarians have been expressing. None of the 
     individuals have been arrested and none has been stripped of 
     membership in the Parliament. The action regarding their 
     immunity is consistent in principle with the immunity 
     provisions of the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, sections 3 
     and 6).
       The Turkish constitution provides that all citizens have 
     the same political rights and civil liberties which they may 
     exercise equally, without impediment, regardless of ethnic or 
     religious background. Allegations that the immunities of the 
     eight parliamentarians were lifted because of their pro-
     Kurdish politics are completely unfounded. Turkish citizens 
     of Kurdish origin live throughout Turkey and participate 
     without discrimination in all walks of life; this is a 
     crucial fact that is widely and wildly misunderstood. Kurds 
     have served as presidents and prime minister of the Republic 
     of Turkey. They serve in large numbers in Parliament, 
     belonging to a wide range of political parties. They enjoy 
     full political representation, and all Turkish citizens, 
     including the great majority of citizens of Kurdish origin, 
     do not support Kurdish extremism.
       Such extremism manifests itself most virulently in the 
     violence perpetrated by the PKK, an antidemocratic, indeed 
     Marxist-Leninist, terrorist organization. The violence aims 
     at carving a Kurdish state out of the sovereign territory of 
     Turkey, thereby undermining the peace and stability of the 
     entire region. Since its inception in 1984, the PKK has based 
     its operations on intimidation and extortion. After the Gulf 
     War, the PKK increased its atrocities and intensified its 
     attacks on the human rights of Turkish citizens of Kurdish 
     and non-Kurdish origin. It has killed thousands of civilians, 
     many of whom are Kurds whom the PKK claims to serve and 
     represent. The PKK took full advantage of the post-war power 
     vacuum in the areas of Iraq bordering Southeast Turkey, which 
     became a breeding ground for terror. The U.N. Human Rights 
     Commission, in its March 2 resolution, recognized that 
     terrorist organizations perpetrate grievous human rights 
     violations. It condemned such violations and asked its 
     members to cooperate to fight terrorism, as required in a 
     large number of international agreements and resolutions, 
     including those of the Conference on Security and Cooperation 
     in Europe (CSCE) and NATO.
       The Turkish government has accelerated its reform programs 
     for the southeast region. These programs--economic, social 
     and political--have been severely hampered by PKK terror. But 
     the government, operating within the rule of law, is 
     determined to eradicate terror and to continue its reform 
     programs for the region. Economic and social programs 
     claim nearly 17.5 percent of Turkey's total investment 
     capital for enormous development projects in the 
     Southeast, such as the Southeastern Anatolia Project 
     (GAP). GAP alone consumes the equivalent of $1.7 million 
     daily (at 1992 exchange rates). Turkey invests in the 
     southeast 13 times more than it collects in taxes from the 
     region. In 1993, investment there was 1.6 times greater 
     than investment in the Western regions.
       Despite the challenges, democracy in Turkey remains strong. 
     The Turkish democratic system is the foundation for existing 
     open, secular, pluralistic society and an expanding free 
     market economy. Since the republic's establishment, the 
     Turkish people and their successive governments have 
     dedicated themselves to furthering these values.
       Supporting a strong democratic Turkey in a generally 
     volatile region has long been recognized as an important 
     interest of the United States. For over half a century, 
     Turkey has been a staunch ally of the United States and NATO. 
     In the evolving new world order after the collapse of Soviet 
     communism, U.S.-Turkish bilateral relations are a major force 
     for good in a vast region stretching from Central Asia 
     through the Middle East to the Balkans. Turkey's heightened 
     strategic importance at the epicenter of important 
     geopolitical changes increases its potential to expand and 
     deepen its ``enhanced partnership'' with the United States. 
     Military and economic assistance to Turkey should be 
     evaluated with respect to NATO requirements as an investment 
     in bolstering Turkish democracy.
       Turkey's local elections on March 27 will be conducted 
     according to law, as appropriate for an open, free and 
     democratic society, notwithstanding any attempts by terrorist 
     organizations to poison the country's political climate. We 
     are vigilant and have the wisdom not to play into the hands 
     of those who would undermine Turkish democracy or damage 
     Turkey's deep-rooted relations with its democratic friends 
     and allies in the United States.

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