Jan 27, 2004

By: Amed Demirhan

To Honorable President of the United States of America, George W. Bush:

Re: Visit of Prime minister of Turkey Recep Tayip Erdogan (RTE)

Dear Mr President:

My understanding is that the Prime Minister, when visiting with you, will primarily wish to discuss two issues, and will ask for your support.

The first is the Cyprus issue, and the other is a Federal State in Iraqi Kurdistan.
With respect to Cyprus he is asking your support for the 80.000 or so  (Before the Turkish invasion of 1974, the Turkish population in Cyrus) Turkish Cypriots for a purely ethnic based confederation or, in the worst case, a loose federation with Greek Cypriots. In second issue, the Prime Minister will ask you not to allow the five million Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan to have a Federal State. In Iraq he is going to ask for exclusive rights for the Turkmen minority, and the influence of Turkey over the city of Kirkuk in Iraq. The Prime Minister does not seem have a concept of international law, or its application in the practice of his government at home.  The illegality, immorality, and unfairness of the Prime Minister's argument are self-evident. In last few weeks Mr. Erdogan has frequently threatened the Kurdish people and has said that his government, together with Iran and Syria, are ready to attack the Kurds if they insist on a right to self-determination in Iraq by the creation of a federal state, witch Kurds are entitle under International law and by natural right.

The Turkmen issue in Iraq is very important one. In the Kurdistan area of Iraq there are an estimated several hundred thousand Turkmen living in many different cities and towns. The fact is that the Turkmen population under the Federal Iraqi Kurdish government today has more freedom than the Turks in Turkey, including Prime Minister Erdogan. Since the 1992 formation of the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament in Erbil, it has promulgated and enforced guaranties of minority rights in Kurdistan. There is no restriction on freedom of speech, worship, the requirement to study in only one language (Kurdish), or the display of pride over one's culture and heritage, in Iraqi Kurdistan. This set of guaranties does not exist in Turkey. This concept of a pluralistic democracy is what is scaring the Prime Minister of Turkey and his coalition partners, Iran and Syria.

While Mr. Erdogan is asking for your support about many issues that will hurt the vast majority of citizens of Turkey itself, and will cause a delay of democratization in Iraq and the Middle East, the vast majority of citizens of Turkey: Kurdish, Turkish, Jewish, Armenian, and Cherkez, and all others, ask your help as well. The ethnic Turks in Turkey would like to have freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom of protecting their property, have equal access to state controlled economy for economic issues, and the freedom of assembly. The 16-20 million Kurds in Turkish controlled Kurdistan would like to have the same right that 80.000 Turkish Cypriots have in Cyprus, and other minorities would like to have the same rights as the Turkmen minority in Iraqi Kurdistan are currently enjoying. This would create a true democratization process in the Middle East. It would bring Turkey and the USA into a long-term strategic partnership from which the people of both countries would greatly benefit.

An undemocratic Turkey cannot be a partner with the USA as evidenced in the war against Iraq. The current Turkish regime found more common ground with Saddam than with the USA and Saddam is now gone. The current Turkish regime is perfectly in tune with Syria and Iran about making certain that Iraq will not become a federal, pluralistic, Western style democracy. Any concession to Mr. Erdogan about Iraq will hurt future relations between Turkey and the USA. If the current antidemocratic regime in Turkey continues to close the door to liberal democracy, ultimately it will force Turkey's population into Islamic movements. As you know there is not freedom of speech in Turkey, therefore, western oriented intellectuals are not able freely express themselves and create alternative solutions for country's social-economic, ethnographic and cultural problems. The Islamists are free to express themselves in state sponsored mosques or within the extreme right fascist parties. These are dangers for the future of Turkey as well as a Turkey -USA relationship.

In short, the vast majority of the citizens of Turkey, especially Kurds, don't like to see the USA name involved in support for military cases in Turkey involving torture, deportation, deprivation from their private property, being jailed for expressing their opinion, or for worship using their own language, and not being able to speak or study using their native tongue.  Today in Turkey there is not any well-known author, poet, or journalist, regardless of ideology, that hasn't been in jail, or has been subject to threats because of what they have been writing. The same is true for politicians in Turkey and the Prime Minister is one of the best examples; he wasn't allowed to run for parliament because he read a short poem. In the last 54 years, since Turkey become a multi-party system (without freedom of speech), the first "freely" elected prime minister, along with two of his ministers, was killed by the government; and former President Ozal's sudden death has been speculated as not from natural causes. All others who have been in leadership positions have been in jail, and often deprived of their political rights, as was Mr. Erdogan.

Dear Mr. President, please allow me one last request. Please show Prime Minister Erdogan the American peoples' hospitality by presenting a copy of the Bill of Rights, that are enjoyed by US citizens, to him. Perhaps the Turkish government will find that document of interest. One would hope so.

Thank you for your generous attention and support. May God Bless America.

Truly yours,
Amed Demirhan
e-mail: ameddemirhan@hotmail.com
Florida, USA

Jan 27, 2004