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| ATAA Welcomes US Supreme Court Decision
on PKK Terrorism Dear Members of ATAA and Friends of Türkiye: The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) welcomes the June 21, 2010, decision of the US Supreme Court in the case of Humanitarian Law Project v. U.S. Attorney General Holder, Secretary of State Clinton. HLP sued the United States claiming that providing lobbying, public relations, legal services and other types of assistance to the PKK terrorist organization was freedom of speech protected by the US Constitution. With a vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court strongly disagreed, holding freedom of speech does not include materially assisting a group listed as a terrorist organization by the US Department of State. The Supreme Court further held that it is not an excuse or defense that a person did not have knowledge of whether a group he/she was assisting is on the Terror List or whether his/her assistance to such group would further the terrorist acts of the group. For a list of terrorist organizations, click here. ATAA is pleased with the decision of the Supreme Court. This is an important victory in the struggle against PKK terrorism. First, we believe that the Supreme Court reached a fair balance between protecting freedom of speech and prohibiting assistance to terrorist organizations. Secondly, the Supreme Court recognized that materially helping the non-violent activities of a terrorist group, necessarily helps acts of terror by that group, because money is fungible -- a penny saved by a terrorist organization is a penny earned for its terror activities. As the U.S. Department of Justice analogized, "To help build a home for Hezbullah, is to help build a bomb for Hezbullah." Under US law, the same holds true for Hamas. Reading between the lines, the Supreme Court found HLP's position that it supports a peaceful approach to be mere subterfuge to support the PKK's militant approach. The Court's decision means that people who want to help the PKK, cannot hide their support for militancy behind freedom of speech. We would add that they cannot hide their anti-Turcism either. The HLP case which arose in Los Angeles in the 9th Circuit, now joins a line of strong case law against the PKK, including decisions in the 5th Circuit in Texas and 6th Circuit in Ohio. In the 6th Circuit, the Court of Appeals ruled against Ibrahim Parlak, holding that the PKK is a racist group which kills Turks as well as Kurds who do not agree with the PKK's nationalist agenda. Parlak, who the United States says was a member of the PKK and involved in the deaths of two Turkish border patrol officers, was denied refugee status, because a person who persecutes others cannot himself claim to be persecuted. In the 5th Circuit, the Court ruled against Selahattin Ozdemir, holding that Turkish security activities against the PKK are legitimate national security measures that are ethnic-neutral. Ozdemir, who was arrested during an anti-PKK raid and released after stiff interrogation, was denied refugee status in the US., because it was not his Kurdish identity that caused his arrest, but that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time during a legitimate counter-terror operation. ATAA urges comprehensive and concrete action to respond to the terror issue, including preventing all forms of assistance and training to the PKK, isolating the PKK and its external supporters from mainstream Turkish Kurdish life, and prosecuting and seeking civil damages against companies that are alleged to have collaborated with the PKK, to wit, European Community v. R.J Reynolds and European Community v. Philip Morris. Click here to read the EC's position that cigarette companies used the PKK's infrastructure to smuggle cigarettes into the EC; Philip Morris settled for $1.2 billion. Turkey and Turkish citizens were not a party to the case. ATAA believes strongly that there is no place for terrorism in a world so abundant in alternative and peaceful ways of addressing issues. And, there is no place for the PKK, which utilizes Kurdish nationalism as a cover for its crime syndicate, including cigarette smuggling, narcotics trafficking, immigrant trafficking, and prostitution/slavery. We would like to take this opportunity once again to remember all Turkish military and law enforcement personnel who have given their lives to fight PKK terror, and convey our deepest sympathies and respects to their families. Furthermore, ATAA remembers the more than 30,000 innocent people who have been killed in PKK terror attacks since 1984. Finally, ATAA thanks the more than 150 writers in ATAA's www.MediaWatchNow.com who have worked tirelessly to counter PKK propaganda in the media to make sure that the media did not become a tool of terror and to help ensure that the Supreme Court was not hijacked by PKK lies. Respectfully, Gunay Evinch President Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) |
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©Assembly
of Turkish American Associations Home of Turkish American Associations across U.S., Canada and Türkiye 1526 18th St, NW,Washington, DC 20036 Phone: (202) 483-9090, Fax: (202) 483-9092 E-mail: assembly@ataa.org, Website: www.ataa.org |