{"id":19552,"date":"2010-06-07T23:59:49","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T20:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=19552"},"modified":"2023-04-04T18:50:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T15:50:01","slug":"we-should-thank-congressman-kuchinich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/06\/07\/we-should-thank-congressman-kuchinich\/","title":{"rendered":"We should thank Congressman Kuchinich"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friends,<\/p>\n

I think we should thank Congressman Kucinich for his letter in support of Turkey, a first in the U.S. Congress:<\/p>\n

Ergun<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kucinich Circulating Letter to Colleagues Regarding Mavi Marmara Incident<\/strong><\/big><\/span>
\n <\/em><\/big><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n Congressman Kucinich 111th <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Washington, \t\t\t\t\t\t\tJun 2 <\/strong>– <\/span><\/p>\n

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is today beginning to circulate to colleagues the following letter concerning the commando raid by Israel upon a Turkish ship in international waters:<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>June 2, 2010<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
The Honorable Barack Obama<\/span><\/div>\n
President of the United States<\/span><\/div>\n
The White House <\/span><\/div>\n
Washington, DC 20500<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Dear Mr. President,<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Israeli commandos, acting at the direction of the State of Israel, attacked and seized a Turkish ship in international waters, in the Mediterranean Sea.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
At least nine were killed in the incident aboard the Mavi Marmara. \u00a0Hundreds of civilians were taken into custody and goods were confiscated. Since the United States considers Israel our most important ally in the region, whose survival is a primary concern, it is incumbent upon the Commander in Chief to call Israel to an accounting for its conduct in planning and executing the deadly military attack in international waters upon a peaceful flotilla carrying citizens from over 50 countries. <\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
The State of Israel’s conduct, attacking a Turkish ship in international waters, constitutes an act of belligerence against Turkey, which at one time Israel considered an important ally. It also undermines United States\u2019 troops efforts in Iraq, since your administration’s efforts to achieve stability in the region and to withdraw troops from Iraq has depended upon Turkey’s cooperation through use of its air bases. <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
In its violent commando raid on the Mavi Marmara, the government of Israel showed no concern as to how its conduct may affect the lives of defenseless, innocent people, its friends and allies, and in particular the United States. The United States must remind Israel as well as all of our other friends and allies:<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
It is not acceptable to repeatedly violate international law. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
It is not acceptable to shoot and kill innocent civilians. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
It is not acceptable to commit an act of aggression against another U.S. ally. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
It is not acceptable to continue a blockade which denies humanitarian relief. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
It is not acceptable to heighten tensions in a region while the United States continues to put so much blood and treasure on the line. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
The State of Israel’s action necessitates that the United States, which is Israel’s partner in the region, begin to redefine its relationship and to establish such boundaries and conditions which are sufficient for mutual respect and cooperation. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
It is incumbent upon Israeli officials to bring forth the truth about the planning for and the attack upon the Mavi Marmara. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
No one questions the right of Israel to defend its border, but that defense does not extend to shooting innocent civilians anywhere in the world, anytime it pleases.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Israel must account for our support, for the lives of our soldiers, for the investment of billions from our taxpayers. \u00a0Israel owes the United States more than reckless, pre-meditated violence waged against innocent people. <\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
The attack on the Mavi Marmara requires consequences for the Netanyahu Administration and for the State of Israel. Those consequences must be dealt by the United States. They must be diplomatic and they must be financial. The U.S. can begin by calling for an independent international inquiry of the Mavi Marmara incident. The integrity of such inquiry necessitates that it not be led by the nation whose conduct is under scrutiny. If our nation fails to act in any substantive way, the United States licenses the violence and we are complicit in it and our own citizens will be forced to pay the consequences. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
We the undersigned deeply regret the loss of life. We are also fully aware of the dangers to world security which exist in the region, which is why the United States has been unstinting it its defense of Israel. We have a right to expect that Israel not add to those dangers with military conduct which all people of good will know is neither defensible nor moral. There must be consequences for such conduct. We await your response.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Sincerely,<\/span><\/div>\n
===============================================================================<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

Ergun Bey, thanks\u00a0for bringing this to our attention.\u00a0 This is what I wrote:<\/p>\n

Dear Congressman Kucinich,<\/p>\n

Your stance on the Mavi Marmara incident is laudable.\u00a0 It is about time that the US government re-evaluates its “no-questions asked” support of the Israeli government in just about every issue.\u00a0 The current Israeli policy undermines not only the interests of the American people, but also the interests of a world yearning for peace.\u00a0 Certainly, the key stone of a lasting peace is first the resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.\u00a0 I think Turkey is playing a critical role in bringing out to the open this ever so festering\u00a0Gaza blockade. The whole international community, including the UN, has condemned the Israeli blockade of Gaza and concomitant actions in the Mavi Marmara incident.\u00a0 As the prime minister of Turkey, Davutoglu, has put it succinctly, it is not a matter of choosing between Turkey and Israel in the aftermath of the latter’s dastardly act in the open seas, but it is a matter of choice between right and wrong.\u00a0 Once again, I commend you for standing on the right side of this issue rather than succumbing to the so often displayed knee-jerk reaction in this country to stand by Israel no matter what.<\/p>\n

Keep up the good work, and thank you,<\/p>\n

Sevgin Oktay<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friends, I think we should thank Congressman Kucinich for his letter in support of Turkey, a first in the U.S. Congress: Ergun Kucinich Circulating Letter to Colleagues Regarding Mavi Marmara Incident Congressman Kucinich 111th Washington, Jun 2 – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is today beginning to circulate to colleagues the following letter concerning the commando […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":782298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[464],"tags":[550],"class_list":["post-19552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ergun-kirlikovali","tag-racism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}