05 November 2001
Transcript: U.S. Ambassador Praises Turkish Cooperation in Terrorism War
(Nov. 1: W. Robert Pearson at ATAA convention in Washington, D.C.)
(1790)
Turkey is providing vital cooperation on the four main "fronts" of the
international struggle against terrorism - diplomatic, military, law
enforcement, and financial - Ambassador W. Robert Pearson told the
Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) convention in
Washington, D.C., November 1.
In addition to an outpouring of support and sympathy from the Turkish
people after the events of September 11, "from the first moment after
the attack, there was strong and immediate solidarity from the highest
levels of the Turkish government," he said.
Pearson also discussed the condition of Turkey's economy, saying that
Turkey "must avoid returning to the failed solutions of yesterday -
high inflation and more debt - and work to reduce the size of the
public sector and develop an attractive investment environment."
Reiterating U.S. support for Turkey's membership in the European
Union, he cited a recent remark by the EU commissioner for
enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, that "the European Union is
indispensable for Turkey, and Turkey is indispensable for the European
Union."
And on U.S. hopes for the future, Pearson said:
"We envision a Turkey that is a full member of the developed,
industrialized alliance of democracies. We look for a Turkey that has
a leadership role among Muslim and Turkic countries. We look to a
Turkey led by a dynamic and growing private sector, which fully
welcomes and encourages foreign investors."
Following is a transcript of the ambassador's remarks as delivered:
(begin transcript)
Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) Convention
Washington, D.C.
November 1, 2001
U.S-TURKISH RELATIONS IN THE MIDST OF WAR: REFLECTIONS ON OUR FUTURE
Remarks by Ambassador W. Robert Pearson
(as delivered)
[Introductory remarks in Turkish not recorded.] I want to express my
gratitude to the ATAA for your invitation and the opportunity to speak
today. I look forward to talking with many of you during our time
together here, and am always happy when ATAA delegations visit us in
Ankara. ATAA is a dynamic organization that is breaking new ground in
its activism with Congress, with local officials, and with citizens. I
encourage you to continue to speak out about U.S.-Turkish relations
and to make your voice heard on key policies affecting our
relationship.
At our Missions in Ankara, Istanbul and Adana, the outpouring of
support and sympathy we received from the people of Turkey in response
to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in September was
very moving. There were personal notes of concern, from friends,
colleagues, and complete strangers, who were moved to express their
outrage and sympathy. Finally, and not least, from the first moment
after the attack, there was strong and immediate solidarity from the
highest levels of the Turkish government.
Let me review for you how we stand in our cooperation with Turkey on
the four main "fronts" of this international struggle.
On the diplomatic front, Turkey's geographic situation makes it
strategic to our foreign policy. But, as the current crisis shows, its
importance far exceeds its location. Its highly professional military,
both bilaterally and through NATO, provides crucial logistical
support. Insights and input from Turkish leaders, diplomats and
soldiers help to shape our approach to a region - Central and South
Asia - where U.S. involvement is, by historical standards, relatively
recent. Equally important is Turkey's status as the Muslim world's
leading secular democracy and the only NATO Ally with a predominantly
Muslim population.
In the military phase of our operations, we are extremely grateful for
the decision of the Turkish government today. This is an example of
our very close cooperation within the NATO alliance, within the
Article 5 decision taken by the alliance that an attack on one was an
attack on all; and we are extremely grateful for this contribution and
look forward to working out the details with the government of Turkey.
On the law enforcement side, we've also had very, very good
cooperation from Turkey. We are looking at organizations in all our
countries which may have links to terrorists. This of course includes
the United States; it includes countries in the area; it includes
countries, of course, in Europe.
On the financial front, Turkey has moved quickly to help us find and
freeze assets that belong to organizations that are working in support
of terrorist groups.
So I would say that in describing this effort which we have in common,
don't think of this only as a military effort. You really must, as we
must - and as we do - think of it as an effort that includes
diplomatic - diplomatic and political - military, law enforcement,
intelligence, and financial cooperation.
Let me say a few words about Turkey today, based on a year there. I
have to say that despite the fact that the Turkish people are in a
great deal of economic pain today - pain that we understand and pain
that we sympathize with - that Turkey is a very dynamic society.
Istanbul is Europe's largest city; 65% of Turkey's population is under
the age of 35, maybe Europe's youngest country in that sense. And
Turks tell us that they long for and they want a more open and
democratic political system. Minister Arsevan today represents a very
dynamic effort in Turkey to make those changes, to bring Turkey's
young generation, the country they love and the country they work for
- and we are very supportive of his and the government's efforts in
that respect.
Turkey's economy has been affected, like the rest of the world, by the
events of September the 11th. We saw a turning point really in Turkey
in August, and I would say early September, that would have occurred
this fall in Turkey's economy. It's still too early to judge the
impact of the events of September the 11th on Turkey, but we do know
that Turkey has still a very large domestic debt burden; and it has
taken painful steps to put it on an economic growth - painful steps
for economic reform that put it on the right path. The government has
adopted a competitive and flexible exchange rate; it has slashed
budget expenditures; it has reformed the banking system. There is talk
in Turkey today of continuing to shrink the size of the government in
order to transfer more wealth to the Turkish people, and we understand
that debate.
Our cooperation is going to continue of course. We know that Turks
want a brighter future. We know from the character of Turks and the
history of Turkey that Turks are willing to make sacrifices to achieve
those goals. I don't need to tell you how patriotic Turks are. They
love their country. They love their flag. They don't want to stay
mired in debt. They will work hard to reduce their debt and to let
Turkey stand, as it should, on its own two feet, headed in the right
direction. Turkey must avoid returning to the failed solutions of
yesterday - high inflation and more debt - and work to reduce the size
of the public sector and develop an attractive investment environment.
And frankly, ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of its younger
generation, it has no other choice. We want to work with the Turkish
people, we want to work with the Turkish government, in all walks of
life to create that future. We envision a Turkey that is a full member
of the developed, industrialized alliance of democracies. We look for
a Turkey that has a leadership role among Muslim and Turkic countries.
We look to a Turkey led by a dynamic and growing private sector, which
fully welcomes and encourages foreign investors.
We will continue to support Turkey's European Union membership. We
believe that we should have as an objective a greater cooperation on
the issues of terrorism. Frankly, all of us have made mistakes in the
past, and it is not the past which governs the future, ladies and
gentlemen: it's what we do today and tomorrow. And so I would say, let
us look to our European friends, let us look to ourselves for new ways
to work together, especially on the terrorism issue, because we need
the three of us in order to be successful.
I want to quote briefly to you a statement made by a European
Commissioner for enlargement, Mr. [Guenter] Verheugen. I was in
Brussels a week ago, and I met with him, and he had a public statement
about that time, which I thought was very interesting. He said this:
"In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, it is clearer than ever
that Turkey and the European Union need each other. The European Union
is indispensable for Turkey, and Turkey is indispensable for the
European Union. The process of transformation in Turkey is based on
values defended by the European Union. And Turkey is much more than a
geo-strategic challenge; it cannot be reduced to that. Turkey combines
the richest elements of European and Islamic culture with the ambition
of a young and modern nation." And I couldn't have said it better if I
had tried.
I talked a lot about governmental cooperation; let me touch just
briefly on non-official partnerships. We are so proud of the 12-15,000
Turkish students that study in the United States. We feel that they're
as much an investment for us, for the United States, as they are for
Turkey. We feel that we share this with Turkey in a common way that
will help mold our common futures. We are also extremely pleased with
the growth of non-governmental organizations that have contacts in
both countries. We're obviously very pleased with the dynamic growth
of your organization. We recently supported an innovative program
between the State University of New York and the government of Turkey,
which will allow students to take degrees from either campus, and we
think this is an exciting new idea.
I'm going to close by, if I may, reading you a brief selection from a
Turkish poem. You will forgive my Turkish. But this, for me,
symbolizes what we are all about together.
[In Turkish]
And for those like me who are non-Turkish speakers, this means, To
build a Suleman mosque, you have to have a Suleman. And you have to
have an architect. You have to have power. And you have to have
talent. And you have to have dedication. But all that treasure can be
torn down with one man with a pick-axe. And so what we are about,
ladies and gentlemen, together, is making sure that our treasures -
our liberties, our democracies, our Suleman mosque - are preserved
against the people who would tear them down with a pick-axe. Thank you
very much.
(end transcript)
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