October 22 ,2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Nurten Ural, President ATAA
Allison Block, Advocacy Director, ATAA
Tel: 202.483.9090
E-mail: president@ataa.org

ATAA Condemns Continued Killings by PKK Terrorists

The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) condemns  yesterday’s  cross-border PKK attack against Turkish NATO forces near Hakkari.  According to the Turkish General Staff, 12 soldiers were killed and another 16 injured. In addition, 8 soldiers were missing or taken as hostage. Also the same day, 12 civilians, mostly Turkish Kurds, were seriously injured when their wedding convoy tripped PKK land mines in Daglica Turkey.

These were  the second and third cross-border PKK attack in two weeks, following last week’s attack that killed 13 soldiers.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization under the United States Anti-Terror and Effective Death Penalty Act. The PKK, also know as the “Kurdistan Worker’s Part”, is a Marxist –Leninist organization that engages in cigarette smuggling, narcotics trafficking, child pornography and female trafficking to raise money for its terror operations. Today, it operates under the banner of Kurdish nationalism.

In recent years, the PKK established camps in northern Iraq, benefiting from the void of accountability that rules the north. The PKK operates from northern Iraq, consistently crossing the border into to Turkey, carrying out violent attacks against civilian and military targets and returning to their bases in northern Iraq.

As the preeminent organization representing the Turkish American community, we again offer our heartfelt condolences to the Turkish nation and families of the tens of thousands of victims who have perished as a result of the terrorist activity of the PKK since 1984.

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