Congressional Letter to President Clinton

Signed by 153 Members of Congress

October 30, 1997

Dear Mr. President:

We write to draw your attention to the tragic situation of Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish woman ever elected to the Turkish parliament. Mrs. Zana, the mother of two children, was chosen to represent the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir by an overwhelming margin in October of 1991. She was arrested by Turkish authorities on March 2, 1994 in the Parliament building and subsequently prosecuted for what Turkish authorities have labeled "separatist speech," stemming from the exercise of her right to free speech in the defense of the rights of Kurdish people. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 1994. She remains imprisoned in Ankara today.

One of the charges against Mrs. Zana was her 1993 appearance, here in Washington, before the Helsinki Commission of the United States Congress. We find it outrageous that although she was invited to participate at the request of Members of Congress, her participation was one of the activities that led to her imprisonment.

Mrs. Zana’s pursuit of democratic change through nonviolence was honored by the European Parliament which unanimously awarded her the 1995 Sakharov Peace Prize. In addition, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have raised concern about her case.

Mr. President, Turkey is an important partner of the United States, a NATO member, and a major recipient of our foreign aid, but its abuse of its Kurdish citizens and their legitimately elected representatives is unacceptable. Mrs. Zana’s majority Kurdish constituency gave her the mandate to represent them, but the government of Turkey has made an unconscionable effort to stop her. Her voice should not be silenced. This is just one of many cases in which the Turkish government has used the power of the state to abuse people based on their political beliefs.

We ask that you and your administration raise Mrs. Zana’s case with the Turkish authorities at the highest level and seek her immediate and unconditional release, so that we may once again welcome her to our shores.

Sincerely yours,

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-1st HI)

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-5th NY)

Rep. Bob Andrews (D-1st NJ)

Rep. Howard Berman (D-26th CA)

Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-9th FL)

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-3rd OR)

Rep. David Bonior (D-10th MI)

Rep. George Brown (D-42nd CA)

Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-13th OH)

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-43rd CA)

Rep. Walter Capps (D-22nd CA)

Rep. Julia Carson (D-10th IN)

Del. Donna Christian-Green (D-VI)

Rep. Bob Clement (D-5th TN)

Rep. James Clyburn (D-6th SC)

Rep, Jerry F. Costello (D-12th IL)

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-47th CA)

Rep. William Coyne (D-14th PA)

Rep. Michael Crapo (R-2nd ID)

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-7th MD)

Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-51st CA)

Rep. Pat Danner (D-6th MO)

Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th IL)

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-4th OR)

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-1st CO)

Rep. William Delahunt (D-10th MA)

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd CT)

Rep. Ron Dellums (D-9th CA)

Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-20th FL)

Rep. Norman Dicks (D-6th WA)

Rep. John Dingell (D-16th MI)

Rep. Julian Dixon (D-32nd CA)

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-10th TX)

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-17th NY)

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-14th CA)

Rep. Lane Evans (D-17th IL)

Del. Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS)

Rep. Sam Farr (D-17th CA)

Rep. Harris Fawell (R-13th IL)

Rep. Vic Fazio (D-3rd CA)

Rep. Bob Filner (D-50th CA)

Rep. Floyd Flake (D-6th NY)

Rep. Mark Foley (R-16th FL)

Rep. Barney Frank (D-4th MA)

Rep. Bob Franks (R-7th NJ)

Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D-2nd CT)

Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-1st MD)

Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-20th NY)

Rep. Gene Green (D-29th TX)

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4th IL)

Rep. Tony Hall (D-3rd OH)

Rep. Jane Harman (D-36th CA)

Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-7th AL)

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-26th NY)

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-2nd MI)

Rep. Tim Holden (D-6th PA)

Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-5th OR)

Rep. Stephen Horn (R-38th CA)

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th MD)

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-2nd IL)

Rep. William Jefferson (D-2nd LA)

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30th TX)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-9th OH)

Rep. Sue Kelly (R-19th NY)

Rep. Joseph Kennedy II (D-8th MA)

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-1st RI)

Rep. Barbara Kennelly (D-1st CT)

Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-15th MI)

Rep. Ron Klink (D-4th PA)

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-10th OH)

Rep. Nick Lampson (D-9th TX)

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-12th CA)

Rep. James Leach (R-1st IA)

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-18th TX)

Rep. John Lewis (D-5th GA)

Rep. Ron Lewis (R-2nd KY)

Rep. Sander Levin (D-12th MI)

Rep. William Lipinski (D-3rd IL)

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-18th NY)

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-16th CA)

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-14th NY)

Rep. Thomas Manton (D-7th NY)

Rep. Edward Markey (D-7th MA)

Rep. Matthew Martinez (D-31st CA)

Rep. Robert Matsui (D-5th CA)

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-4th NY)

Rep. Joseph McDade (R-10th PA)

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-7th WA)

Rep. James McGovern (D-3rd MA)

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-4th GA)

Rep. Michael McNulty (D-21st NY)

Rep. Martin Meehan (D-5th MA)

Rep. Carrie Meek (D-17th FL)

Rep. Robert Menendez (D-13th NJ)

Rep. George Miller (D-7th CA)

Rep. Patsy Mink (D-2nd HI)

Rep. Joe Moakley (D-9th MA)

Rep. James Moran (D-8th VA)

Rep. Constance Morella (R-8th MD)

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-9th NC)

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-8th NY)

Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-2nd MA)

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Rep. David Obey (D-7th WI)

Rep. John Olver (D-1st MA)

Rep. Major Owens (D-11th NY)

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th NJ)

Rep. Michael Pappas (R-12th NJ)

Rep. William Pascrell (D-8th NJ)

Rep. Ed Pastor (D-2nd AZ)

Rep. Donald Payne (D-10th NJ)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-8th CA)

Rep. Glenn Poshard (D-19th IL)

Rep. David Price (D-4th NC)

Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-15th OH)

Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-13th MI)

Rep. Steven Rothman (D-9th NJ)

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-33rd CA)

Rep. Edward Royce (R-39th CA)

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st IL)

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-46th CA)

Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-VT)

Rep. Charles Schumer (D-9th NY)

Rep. Jose Serrano (D-16th NY)

Rep. David E. Skaggs (D-2nd CO)

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th CT)

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-24th CA)

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-28th NY)

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-4th NJ)

Rep. Linda Smith (R-3rd WA)

Rep. Pete Stark (D-13th CA)

Rep. Louis Stokes (D-11th OH)

Rep. James Talent (R-2nd MO)

Rep. Karen Thurman (D-5th FL)

Rep. John F. Tierney (D-6th MA)

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-10th NY)

Rep. James Traficant (D-17th OH)

Rep. Jim Turner (D-2nd TX)

Del. Robert Underwood (D-GU)

Rep. Fred Upton (R-6th MI)

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-12th NY)

Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-1st IN)

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-35th CA)

Rep. Melvin Watt (D-12th NC)

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-29th CA)

Rep. Curt Weldon (R-7th PA)

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-6th CA)

Rep. Albert Wynn (D-4th MD)

Rep. Sidney R. Yates (D-9th IL)

*These members of the U.S. Congress initiated the effort.