Dear Mrs. Clinton!

It is now 29 days since the beginning of the hunger strike by the people who are trying to alleviate the suffering of the prisoner of conscience, laureate of the European Parliamentís Andrei Sakharov prize, Dr. Leyla Zana.  Dr. Zana did not commit any crimes but with her word was trying to defend the right of her people to live on the ancestral lands, to speak their language, and to practice their religion.

I know the nature of hunger strike not from the novels but from the personal experience.  Twenty nine days is a lot, that threatens not only the health, but the very life of the hunger strikers among whom is the personally known to you Kathryn Cameron Porter, wife of Congressman Porter.

On November 17 the hunger strike was moved from the Capitol to the square in front of the White House.  It is so close to your residence that your assistants can easily walk to the site and get all the details about the case of Leyla Zana, about this young woman who is a mother of two children, a medical doctor and a Member of Turkeyís Parliament.  For that reason I will not recount the case here.  But I implore you to show compassion and understanding and to use your moral authority to help those who are striving for the release of Dr. Leyla Zana.

With respect and hope,
Elena Bonner
17 November, 1997