[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 26 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H907-H908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROPOSED SALE OF ATTACK HELICOPTERS TO TURKEY WOULD DESTABILIZE REGION, 
                         THREATEN HUMAN RIGHTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, the Clinton administration is currently 
considering a $4 billion sale of attack helicopters to the Republic of 
Turkey. I am here tonight, Mr. Speaker, to express my strong opposition 
to this proposal.
  Providing these helicopters to Turkey will only serve to increase 
tensions and instability in a region of the world that is vital to U.S. 
interests and which is already plagued by conflicts and human rights 
violations.
  Put very simply, Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that the Turkish Armed 
Forces will use this advanced American military technology to threaten 
its neighbors and abuse its own citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, several organizations have called upon the Clinton 
administration to refuse an export license for the attack helicopters 
to the Turkish Army because Turkey has failed to make progress on human 
rights benchmarks set by the administration in 1998 as a condition for 
approval of the export license.
  Among those organizations working to block the export license is 
Amnesty International. Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of 
Amnesty International USA, stated that, ``Based on the State 
Department's own annual human rights report, Turkey fails to meet the 
human rights benchmarks.''
  Indeed, Mr. Speaker, the section on Turkey in the State Department's 
annual human rights report issued just a few weeks ago states that, 
``The security forces continue to torture, beat, and otherwise abuse 
persons regularly. Torture, beatings, and other abuses by security 
forces remained widespread, at times resulting in deaths. Security 
forces at times beat journalists.''
  Mr. Speaker, in a particularly relevant issue with regard to the 
helicopters, both the State Department and Amnesty International have 
reported the use of helicopters to attack Kurdish villages in Turkey 
and to transport troops to regions where they have tortured and killed 
civilians.
  Do we really want to see American advanced technology used by Turkey 
to accomplish these operations against the Kurdish people with even 
more ruthless efficiency?
  Mr. Speaker, this helicopter deal is also a danger to regional 
stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus.
  Recently there has been a thawing in Greek-Turkish relations, a trend 
which we all welcome. The sale of these helicopters to Turkey has the 
potential to upset this recent progress in the relations between these 
neighbors. It could well be seen by Greece as a destabilizing step at a 
time when we are seeking renewed efforts to resolve the Cyprus 
conflict, an issue that the administration considers a major priority.
  In terms of Turkey's legitimate defense needs, it was hard to see any 
justification for these advanced attack helicopters. Indeed, Mr. 
Speaker, it is apparent that Turkey is already overarmed.
  The neighboring country that has suffered the most from the Turkish 
Government's aggressive militaristic and nationalistic posture is 
Armenia. In the years between 1915 and 1923, Turkey perpetrated 
genocide against the Armenian people resulting in 1.5 million innocent 
Armenian civilians being murdered.
  In the year 2000, Turkey continues to maintain an illegal blockade of 
its border with Armenia, which has prevented the delivery of vitally 
needed supplies to Armenia. Even Turkish business people would like to 
see the opening of corridors of trade and transport with Armenia. 
Turkey has also backed Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno 
Karabagh. Given this pattern of hostility, the people of Armenia have 
every reason to fear the acquisition of these helicopters by Turkey.

[[Page H908]]

  Mr. Speaker, the Government of Turkey knows how the game is played 
here in Washington. They have recently signed a $1.8 million year 
contract for the lobbying services of several former Members of this 
Congress to push for the helicopter deal.
  I urge the administration to resist this type of pressure, and I call 
on my colleagues in Congress to join me in using our position as 
elected officials to prevent this helicopter deal. Providing these 
helicopters to Turkey does nothing to promote American interests or 
values, does nothing to promote stability, and does nothing to advance 
the cause of human rights.

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