IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 179
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the human rights situation
in the Republic of Turkey in light of that country’s desire to host
the next summit meeting of the heads of state or government of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 28, 1997
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. HOYER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr.
CARDIN, and Mr. SALMON) submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the human
rights situation in the Republic of Turkey in light of
that country’s desire to host the next summit meeting
of the heads of state or government of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Whereas the Republic of Turkey, because of its position at
the crossroads of Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia,
and the Middle East, is well positioned to play a leading
role in shaping developments in Europe and beyond;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey has been a longstanding
member of numerous international organizations, includ-
ing the Council of Europe (1949), the North Atlantic
•HCON 179 IH
Treaty Organization (1952), and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975);
Whereas Turkey’s President, Suleyman Demirel, was an
original signer of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey proposed in late 1996 that
Istanbul serve as the venue for the next OSCE summit,
a prestigious gathering of the heads of state or govern-
ment of countries in Europe, Central Asia, and North
America, including the United States;
Whereas a decision on the venue of the next OSCE summit
will require the consensus of all OSCE participating
states, including the United States;
Whereas the OSCE participating states, including Turkey,
have declared their steadfast commitment to democracy
based on human rights and fundamental freedoms, the
protection and promotion of which is the first responsibil-
ity of government;
Whereas the development of genuine democracy in Turkey is
undermined by ongoing violations of international hu-
manitarian law as well as other human rights obligations
and commitments, including provisions of the Helsinki
Final Act and other OSCE documents, by which Turkey
is bound;
Whereas the Department of State has found that serious
human rights problems persist in Turkey and that
human rights abuses have not been limited to the south-
east, where Turkey has engaged in an armed conflict
with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for
over a decade;
•HCON 179 IH
Whereas flagrant violations of OSCE standards and norms
continue and the problems raised by the United States
Delegation at the November 1996 OSCE Review Meeting
in Vienna persist;
Whereas expert witnesses at a 1997 briefing of the Commis-
sion on Security and Cooperation in Europe (in this con-
current resolution referred to as the ‘‘Helsinki Commis-
sion’’) underscored the continued, well-documented, and
widespread use of torture by Turkish security forces and
the failure of the Government of Turkey to take deter-
mined action to correct such gross violations of OSCE
provisions and international humanitarian law;
Whereas the Government of Turkey continues to use broadly
the Anti-Terror Law and Article 312 of the Criminal
Code against writers, journalists, publishers, politicians,
musicians, and students;
Whereas the Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded
that more journalists are currently jailed in Turkey than
in any other country in the world;
Whereas the Government of Turkey has pursued an aggres-
sive campaign of harassment of nongovernmental organi-
zations, including the Human Rights Foundation of Tur-
key; branch offices of the Human Rights Association in
Diyarbakir, Malatya, Izmir, Konya, and Urfa have been
raided and closed; and Turkish authorities continue to
persecute the members of nongovernmental organizations
who attempt to assist the victims of torture;
Whereas four former parliamentarians from the now banned
Kurdish-based Democracy Party (DEP) Leyla Zana,
Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dog˘an, and Selim Sadak remain im-
prisoned at Ankara’s Ulucanlar Prison and among the
•HCON 179 IH
actions cited in Zana’s indictment was her 1993 appear-
ance before the Helsinki Commission in Washington,
D.C.;
Whereas the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has ex-
pressed concern over the case of human rights lawyer
Hasan Dog˘an, a member of the People’s Democracy
Party (HADEP), who like many members of the party,
has been subject to detention and prosecution;
Whereas many human rights abuses have been committed
against Kurds who assert their Kurdish identity, and
Kurdish institutions, such as the Kurdish Cultural and
Research Foundation, have been targeted for closure;
Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate has repeatedly re-
quested permission to reopen the Orthodox seminary on
the island of Halki closed by the Turkish authorities
since the 1970s despite Turkey’s OSCE commitment to
‘‘allow the training of religious personnel in appropriate
institutions’’;
Whereas members of other minority religions or beliefs, in-
cluding Armenian and Syrian Orthodox believers, as well
as Roman Catholics, Armenian, Chaldean, Greek and
Syrian Catholics, and Protestants have faced various
forms of discrimination and harassment;
Whereas the closing of the border with Armenia by Turkey
in 1993 remains an obstacle to the development of mu-
tual understanding and confidence, and friendly and
good-neighborly relations between those OSCE participat-
ing states;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey has repeatedly rebuffed of-
fers by the Chair-in-Office of the OSCE to dispatch a
•HCON 179 IH
personal representative to Turkey for purposes of assess-
ing developments in that country;
Whereas, despite the fact that a number of Turkish civilian
authorities remain publicly committed to the establish-
ment of rule of law and to respect for human rights, tor-
ture, excessive use of force, and other serious human
rights abuses by the security forces continue; and
Whereas the Government of Turkey has failed to meaning-
fully address these and other human rights concerns
since it first proposed to host the next OSCE summit
and thereby has squandered this opportunity to dem-
onstrate its determination to improve implementation of
Turkey’s OSCE commitments: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—
(1) the privilege and prestige of hosting a sum-
mit of the heads of state or government of the Orga-
nization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) should be reserved for participating states
that have demonstrated in word and in deed stead-
fast support for Helsinki principles and standards,
particularly respect for human rights;
(2) the United States should refuse to give con-
sensus to any proposal that Turkey serve as the
venue for a summit meeting of the heads of state or
government of OSCE countries until the Govern-
ment of Turkey has demonstrably improved imple-
mentation of its freely undertaken OSCE commit-
•HCON 179 IH
ments, including action to address those human
rights concerns enumerated in the preamble of this
resolution;
(3) the United States should encourage the de-
velopment of genuine democracy in the Republic of
Turkey based on protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms; and
(4) the President of the United States should
report to Congress not later than April 15, 1998, on
any improvement in the actual human rights record
in Turkey, including improvements in that country’s
implementation of provisions of the Helsinki Final
Act and other OSCE documents.
SEC. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives
shall transmit a copy of this concurrent resolution to the
President of the United States.
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