U.S. urged to investigate deadly Turkish airstrike

Published: Friday January 13, 2012

F-16s of the Turkish air force. Via Flicker.com

Washington - Kurdish American, Hellenic American, and Armenian American leaders joined together today in calling upon key Congressional leaders to demand that the Obama Administration investigate whether Turkey violated U.S. arms export laws by using American-supplied weaponry in a December 28, 2011, airstrike that killed 35 Kurdish boys and young men along the Turkey-Iraq border.

In a January 10 letter addressed to the bipartisan leaderships of the Congressional committee's overseeing the State Department and Pentagon, the American Hellenic Institute, American Kurdish Information Network, Armenian National Committee of America, Kurdish Human Rights Watch, and Kurdish National Congress of North America called upon the eight chairpersons and ranking members of these panels to request that the Obama Administration officially investigate this potential violation of U.S. law.

In their joint letter, the signatories noted that: "press accounts, in the Associated Press, Economist, Boston Globe, Radio Free Europe, and elsewhere, have reported that this attack was conducted by U.S.-supplied F-16s, guided by aerial drone intelligence."

They stressed that: "In light of these widely reported accounts indicating the possible use of U.S. arms - and in the context of both the horrendous human costs of this particular attack and the history of Turkey's having long used its military arsenal against civilian populations - we call upon you to request that the Administration investigate this matter. We also ask that you request that the Administration submit an immediate public report to Congress on any potential violations of U.S. law in connection with these killings."

The full text of the letter is provided below.

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January 10, 2012

The Honorable John Kerry
Chairman
Foreign Relations Committee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard Lugar
Ranking Member
Foreign Relations Committee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Carl Levin
Chairman
Armed Services Committee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable John McCain
Ranking Member
Armed Services Committee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Chairman
Foreign Affairs Committee
U.S. House of Representatives 20515

The Honorable Howard Berman
Ranking Member
Foreign Affairs Committee
U.S. House of Representatives 20515

The Honorable Buck McKeon
Chairman
Armed Services Committee
U.S. House of Representatives 20515

The Honorable Adam Smith
Ranking Member
Armed Services Committee
U.S. House of Representatives 20515

Dear Senators Kerry, Lugar, Levin and McCain and Representatives
Ros-Lehtinen, Berman, McKeon and Smith:

We are writing to ask you - as the legislators with primary
oversight responsibility for the Department of State and the
Pentagon - to call upon the Obama Administration to investigate and
publicly report to Congress regarding Turkey's compliance with the
Arms Export Control Act of 1976 and other relevant U.S. laws, in
regard to the December 28, 2011 Turkish airstrike that killed as
many as 35 innocent Kurdish boys and young men along Turkey's
border with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq.

As you have likely seen, press accounts, in the Associated Press,
Economist, Boston Globe, Radio Free Europe, and elsewhere, have
reported that this attack was conducted by U.S.-supplied F-16s,
guided by aerial drone intelligence. In light of these widely
reported accounts indicating the possible use of U.S. arms - and in
the context of both the horrendous human costs of this particular
attack and the history of Turkey's having long used its military
arsenal against civilian populations - we call upon you to request
that the Administration investigate this matter. We also ask that
you request that the Administration submit an immediate public
report to Congress on any potential violations of U.S. law in
connection with these killings.

Thank you for your leadership on human rights and for all your
service in government promoting U.S. interests and advancing
American values in the international arena.

Sincerely,

Nick Larigakis
President
American Hellenic Institute

Kani Xulam
Executive Director
American Kurdish Information Network

Aram Hamparian
Executive Director
Armenian National Committee of America

Dr. Pary Karadaghi
President
Kurdish Human Rights Watch

Dr. Kamal Artin
President
Kurdish National Congress of North America