OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA – We are deeply concerned to learn of false allegations, repeatedly aired and recently revived, made against Kurdish politicians and diplomats. These baseless allegations are directed against an entire people and their representatives who should by rights be seen as indispensable to the achievement of a genuine peaceful resolution to Turkey’s conflict with the Kurds.
We refer to accusations against internationally known Kurdish politicians namely Cemil Bayik, Duran Kalkan, Remzi Kartal, Sabri Ok and Adem Uzun.
Basing its charges on fabricated evidence, the US-OFAC (Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control), a subdivision of the American Foreign Ministry, is seeking to assert that they have sequestrated the bank accounts (“assets”) of the above-named individuals, whom they are slanderously alleging to be acting as drug-smugglers. In fact the persons named do not even possess bank accounts.
First of all, we are convinced that these individuals are not engaged, actively or in any other way, in the illegal trade of drugs, and indeed they have publicly denounced such activity. Nor does any European government know of even a single bank account possessed by them, such that the US government can claim to have “frozen” it. Nor do they have any bank accounts in the USA.
The official US findings are completely without foundation and, in fact, form part of a plan orchestrated to restrict the legitimate political activities of these Kurdish representatives who are to be tainted through a process of criminalisation. It is not really a matter of drugs at all, but about co-operation with the US’s partner Turkey to marginalize their highly effective Kurdish diplomatic activities (and foreign affairs work) which is putting across the convincing case for the Kurds. The intention is effectively to sabotage the peace process between the Turkish state and the Kurdish organizations.
To the same end, the US plans to impose travel restrictions to obstruct these Kurdish individuals from having contacts with the media and their political engagement with international civil society partners including members of Parliaments, particularly within Europe.
We the undersigned wish to put on record that it is our personal conviction that, having been familiar with or met one or more of these Kurdish politicians that it is our belief that they aim simply and solely to achieve a just, reasonable and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question. We therefore intend despite all the pressures to continue our dialogue with them in search for a solution to this question.
Our appeal letter in defence and support of the Kurdish politicians should also be taken as an appeal for the opening up of a deep process of dialogue for reform and democratisation in Turkey, whose objective must be to treat all citizens equally.
Hans Branscheidt EUTCC Board / MESOP
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