The Honorable Elizabeth Furse
The Honorable John Edward Porter
The Honorable Esteban Torres
The Honorable Frank R. Wolf
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Friends,

With some excitement and great appreciation, I have just found out about the effort you have undertaken on my behalf in the United States Congress.  For years now, the Kurdish people have been struggling against great oppression to regain their dignity and identity.  Like the other peoples of the world, they too would like to have the freedom to speak their language and to carry on with their traditions.  They long to express their political identity.

In Turkey alone, there are some 15 to 20 million Kurds, a figure admitted by the Turkish officials, and yet the democratic aspirations of this constituency have met with blood and tears.  Unfortunately, this state of affairs continues to this day.  This way of thinking has plunged Turkey into a war that is now 14 years old.  The cease-fire efforts on the part of the Kurds to pave the way for dialogue and peace to this day have gone unnoticed.  To this end, I view my imprisonment as synonymous with the freedom of my own people, and I consider your efforts to discuss it in the halls of your Congress very important.  I am touched by your spirit of generosity.

Neither my people nor I can ever forget your efforts; we will always remember the gesture with respect.

Your initiative, while uplifting our morale, is also of the utmost importance to the democratic forces in Turkey, the peace activists, the scientists, writers, artists and the politicians who favor reform.  They feel validated and stronger.

On behalf of my fellow imprisoned parliamentarians as well, please accept my warmest greetings and gratitude.

With kindest regards,
 
 
 
 

Leyla Zana
Member of Parliament