[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 126 (Wednesday, October 11, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9804-H9805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OPPOSING THE SALE OF ATTACK HELICOPTERS TO TURKEY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my fierce
opposition to the sale of 145 Bell-Textron attack helicopters to
Turkey, as planned by the administration.
[[Page H9805]]
First and foremost, there is simply no need to proceed with this
sale. Turkey is already the most militarized state in that region, and
it has the second largest army in NATO after the United States. Despite
these facts, Turkey plans to spend $150 billion over the next 25 to 30
years on military weapons; and it plans to implement the first $31
billion phase in the next 10 years. This money could be better used to
build schools, hospitals, or housing for the victims of last year's
destructive earthquake. Mr. Speaker, the list is endless.
Previous experience leaves no room for any optimism regarding
legitimate use of such weaponry by Turkey. Quite the contrary, the
record shows that the Turkish military has consistently failed to
distinguish between civilian and military targets. For the last 16
years, the Turkish military has been using American weaponry, most
notably attack helicopters, to kill more than 30,000 civilians, destroy
over 2,000 ethnic Kurdish villages and displace more than 2\1/2\
million ethnic Kurds.
{time} 1930
The Turkish military has misused its equipment even though its
government has signed numerous international agreements guaranteeing
freedom of religion and human rights. Recently, Turkey used an American
COBRA attack helicopter in its campaign against the Kurds in southeast
Turkey, in direct violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the
Foreign Military Sales Agreement which Turkey signed with the United
States.
Despite its repeated pledges and promises to make improvements,
Turkey's record of human rights violations remains dismal. In a
December 1997 meeting with U.S. officials, Turkish diplomats pledged to
meet certain benchmarks for improving human rights in Turkey. In
subsequent meetings, U.S. officials pledged to oppose the sale of U.S.
attack helicopters or other military equipment to Turkey unless the
Turkish government met these standards.
And to what degree did Turkey honor its promises? According to the
State Department's 1999 Country Report on Human Rights, Turkey has
failed to meet any of the benchmarks set forth by the administration.
How can we allow this sale to proceed when Turkey has repeatedly failed
to live up to its promises? Our Nation risks a loss of credibility in
permitting this sale while repeatedly proclaiming our commitment to
respect and promote human rights and our opposition to Turkey's
violations.
Other countries have refused to sell Turkey weapons because of its
human rights records. According to a report by Reuters on September 8,
2000, Germany's ruling Social Democrats said their government would
veto a $7.1 billion order to supply Turkey with 1,000 tanks because of
Turkey's human rights violations. If Germany is willing to forego a
lucrative arms deal based on these concerns, why should we feel any
differently? Is our Nation any less committed to protecting human
rights? Are our principles more ``flexible'' when a significant dollar
amount is involved? I would hope not.
Mr. Speaker, some values transcend geopolitical barriers, and respect
for human rights is one of them. People around the world look to the
United States for leadership and guidance precisely because of our
strict adherence to such principles. The proposed arms sale to Turkey,
viewed in the light of its past record on human rights, is contrary to
the values we espouse, harmful to our imagine abroad, and threatens the
security of a strategically important region.
For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to join me in opposing
this arms deal and in calling for its immediate cancellation.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I have long been concerned about the level
of U.S. military aid and arms sales to Turkey. On average, the U.S.
provides Turkey with more than $1 billion each year in direct military
assistance and training and commercial arms exports. There are more
particular reasons, however, for why I am opposed to the recently
announced agreement for Turkey to purchase 145 attack helicopters worth
$4.5 billion from U.S. arms manufacturers. Nothing could be more
destructive to the efforts by the U.S. and the international community
to bring peace and stability to the eastern Mediterranean region that
this major arms purchase by Turkey.
Human rights organizations inside and outside of Turkey have
documented that Turkey has used American Cobra attack helicopters in
its campaign against the Kurdish people in southeast Turkey. The
Turkish military consistently fail to distinguish between civilian and
military targets. For the past 16 years, the Turkish military has used
American weaponry and especially attack helicopters to kill over 30,000
civilian non-combatants, destroy over 2,000 ethnic Kurdish villages,
and displace over 2.5 million ethnic Kurds. In its ``Report 2000,''
Amnesty International states that the practice of torture has actually
increased in the past year.
At a time when the world hopes for a break-through in negotiations on
Cyprus, the U.S. approves a massive military sale to Turkey. At a time
when the world is attempting to lessen the attacks and repressive
actions taken against the Kurdish minority by the Turkish government,
the U.S. approves a massive military sale to Turkey.
Why is the Administration allowing this commercial sale to go
forward? Turkey is already the most militarized state in the
Mediterranean. It possesses vast military superiority over all its
neighbors. There is no need to increase its military arsenal.
Rather than spending $4.5 billion on the purchase of attack
helicopters, the Government of Turkey might better target those funds
toward rebuilding the communities ravaged by earthquakes, building more
schools and health clinics, and addressing other basic economic needs
of its people.
I urge the Administration to revoke this export license and move away
from the long-standing policy of militarizing Turkey--a policy
supported by Republican and Democratic Administrations alike. What
might have once made sense during the Cold War is now counter-
productive to efforts to demilitarize the region.
The pursuit of regional peace and stability and respect for basic
human rights are not helped by arms sales.
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