September 21, 1999
Ambassador Baki Ilkin
Turkish Embassy
2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20005

message sent via facsimile: 202.612.6744

Dear Ambassador Ilkin,

Four weeks ago, I wrote you a letter announcing our intention to collect donations for the earthquake victims in Turkey. On August 23, we opened an account under the name of AKIN/Earthquake 99/Turkish-Kurdish Relief Fund at a local bank in Washington, DC. I am writing to invite you to a press conference to give you our collected contributions in the form of a check.
As you know, President Clinton is hosting Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit at the White House on September 28, 1999. We have planned a press conference/rally with the theme “Give Peace A Chance” to be held at noon on the same day across the street in Lafayette Park. We have invited a number of prominent individuals to address the issues of peace and reconciliation between the Kurds and the Turks. We would like you to attend our rally and accept our check on behalf of American Kurds from a member of the United States Congress.
Please note that we undertook this effort in the belief that, despite the ongoing war between our peoples, compassion is a stronger human attribute than hatred. We hope you feel the same.
In order to finalize the program, we would appreciate it if you could RSVP by Thursday, September 23, 1999. We hope that you will be able to accept our invitation, and help in the forging of a nascent peace between our peoples.
Sincerely yours,

Kani Xulam
Director