[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 111 (Thursday, August 11, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                   PKK ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS MUST STOP

 Mr. DeCONCINI. Mr. President, I wish to express my anger and 
frustration over recent killings of innocent civilians by members of 
the Kurdish Workers Party [PKK]. Yesterday, 12 innocent civilians, 
including women and children, were machine gunned by PKK guerrillas 
while riding a bus. This, and similar attacks, only propel forward the 
senseless cycle of violence responsible now for over 12,500 lives and 
widespread destruction and dislocation throughout southeast Turkey. I 
fail to see how the killing of innocent men, women and children serves 
the interests of anyone who professes to want human rights and 
democracy.
  Mr. President, violence certainly begets violence and murder can 
never become an acceptable means of achieving political objectives. Mao 
Tse Tung believed that political power emanated from the barrel of a 
gun, but Mr. President, in the 21st century, political power will be 
built on words and the free flow of information. The force of ideas is 
ultimately more powerful than the force of arms. So, just as I have 
called upon the Government of Turkey to peacefully and democratically 
redress the grievances of its Kurdish citizens, so too must the PKK 
abandon its armed struggle. I cannot understand how PKK leaders expect 
their calls for political solutions to the Kurdish problem to be taken 
seriously as long as the PKK slaughters civilians. To the contrary, 
their terrorist tactics only besmirch the legitimate efforts of Kurdish 
leaders who are genuinely seeking a peaceful political solution.
  Mr. President, the human rights situation in Turkey is not getting 
any better. A virtual state of civil war exists in southeast Turkey. 
Kurdish villages burn and tens of thousands are made refugees. Human 
rights and pro-Kurdish activists are regularly murdered or disappear. A 
relentless campaign against free speech is silencing parliamentarians, 
journalists and other and stifling informed public debate. Mr. 
President, amidst the haze of war and propaganda emanating from all 
sides, the truth is becoming increasingly difficult to discern.
  Mr. President, for the sake of human rights and the future of 
democracy in Turkey, I urge Turkish and Kurdish combatants to consider 
an immediate ceasefire. Their military debate must end and a political 
debate be allowed to begin. Only after the violence and terror has 
ceased can the process of bringing peace and prosperity to all of 
Turkey's citizens commence.

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