We, as a whole, as a human family, can never be free when millions are denied their right to self determination, and the freedom to peacefully live their lives. Here, I would like to tell you of our neighbors, the people who have made their work to deny us our humanity. They have introduced a culture of violence to our lives. Just look at the pictures around yourselves. Kurdish father and his child cut down by poison gas in Iraq.
Kurdish activists blind folded and machine gunned in Iran.
And Turkish soldiers posing triumphantly over their game, the Kurds, in Turkish Kurdistan. But what have the nations of the world done to stop the madness that has become the rule rather than exception in Kurdistan. They have supplied these misguided neighbors of ours who are ruled by some of the most unscrupulous brutes with weapons, state of the art helicopters, and planes. I don't want to sound all doom and gloom on this day of remembrance for the Kurds and hope for our fasters. Let me at this time note that, as a Kurd, I was overjoyed that Jody Williams was recognized for her work by the Nobel Committee that awarded her the Peace prize.