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Dozens of Kurdish journalists face terrorism charges in Turkey

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Human rights groups say country’s biggest ever media trial is attempt to intimidate press

The biggest media trial in Turkey‘s history has begun in what human rights groups say is an attempt by the government to intimidate the press and punish pro-Kurdish activists.

A total of 44 Kurdish journalists appeared in court in Istanbul on various terrorism charges, including accusations that they have supported the KCK, an illegal pan-Kurdish movement that includes the PKK, the armed Kurdistan Workers’ party. Of those, 36 have been in pre-trial detention since December.

The hearing was delayed after the defendants made an attempt to defend themselves in Kurdish, their mother language, a request denied by the judge. Twelve of the defendants are said to have led a terrorist organisation and 32 are accused of being members of a terrorist organisation. Prosecutors have demanded prison sentences ranging from seven and a half to 22 and a half years.

The contentious case comes amid an escalation of Turkey’s 28-year-old Kurdish insurgency, with renewed clashes between the PKK and Turkish security forces. Over the past 14 months, the country has seen its worst violence since the PKK’s leader, Abdullah Öcalan, was captured and jailed in 1999. Since June 2011, at least 708 people have been killed, according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. The victims include 405 PKK fighters, 209 soldiers and police, and 84 civilians, it said.

Meanwhile, a peaceful initiative by Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and his ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) to improve Kurdish rights has fizzled out. Instead, thousands of non-violent Kurdish politicians and sympathisers have been arrested and charged with terrorism offences. The journalists are the latest group to go on trial, activists say.

“This is bad for Turkey’s international image,” said Hüseyin Bagci, of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University’s international relations department. Bagci described Erdoğan’s Kurdish political initiative – unpopular with many Turks – as dead, but said the government remained divided over how to deal with the worsening insurgency, with no clear strategy.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the Turkish government for the prosecution of pro-Kurdish politicians, activists and journalists who exercise their right to freedom of expression.

Andrew Gardner, Turkey researcher of Amnesty International, said: “[This] prosecution forms a pattern where critical writing, political speeches and participation at peaceful demonstrations are used as evidence of terrorism offences.”

More than 100 journalists are currently in jail in Turkey, more than in Iran or China. Many of them work for Kurdish media outlets. About 800 more face charges and many journalists have been fired or have quit their jobs because of direct or indirect pressure from the Turkish government.

In a recent speech, the interior minister, Idris Naim Sahin, compared writers and journalists to PKK fighters, saying that there was “no difference between the bullets fired in [the Kurdish south-east] and the articles written in Ankara”.

The government maintains that none of the journalists on trial have been arrested for their work as members of the press. However, the 800-page indictment includes charges for “denigrating the state” against one journalist who wrote about sexual harassment at Turkish Airlines. Özlem Agus, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Tigris News Agency (DIHA), was singled out for bringing to light sexual abuse of minors in the Pozanti prison in Adana. Other offending articles include interviews with the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy party (BDP) leader Sebahattin Demirtas, and reports on casualties in the fights between the PKK and Turkish armed forces.

“All of the defendants are on trial for doing their jobs,” the defence lawyer Meral Danis Bektas said. “A free press and freedom of expression are cornerstones of democracy. Without them, democratic political participation becomes impossible. Erdoğan now openly threatens journalists or dictates [what to write]. This attitude creates a terrible climate for press freedom.”

A report by the International Crisis Group to be published on Tuesday blames both sides for the worsening situation. It says the government needs to “reform oppressive laws that jail legitimate Kurdish politicians” and to “make amends” for the excessive behaviour of its security forces. But it adds: “The Kurdish movement, including PKK leaders, must abjure terrorist attacks and publicly commit to realistic political goals. Above all, politicians on all sides must legalise the rights most of Turkey’s Kurds seek, including mother-language education, an end to discriminatory laws, fair political representation and more decentralisation.”

The report also claims Ankara has “zigzagged” on its commitments to Kurds’ rights. At times it has given “positive signals” including scheduling optional Kurdish lesson in schools. “At others, they appear intent on crushing the PKK militarily, minimise the true extent of fighting, fail to sympathise with Kurdish civilian casualties, openly show their deep distrust of the Kurdish movement, do nothing to stop the arrest of thousands of non-violent activists and generally remain complacent as international partners mute their criticism at a time of Middle East turmoil.”

Since 2009, 8,000 pro-Kurdish politicians, lawyers, academics, writers and members of the media have been arrested on terrorism charges.

The new media trial “is clearly political,” said the investigative journalist Ertugrul Mavioglu, who faced terrorism charges, dropped last December, for interviewing the KCK’s leader Murat Karayilan, who operates from a base in northern Iraq.

Mavioglu said: “The government wants to set an example, it wants to intimidate. Journalists are being told: ‘There are limits on what you are allowed to say.'”

• This article was amended on 11 September to correct the English translation of the BDP’s name, from the Freedom and Democracy party to the Peace and Democracy party

Armenia celebrates 21st anniversary of independence, “Happy Birthday Armenia”

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September 21, 2012 – 13:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – With a unanimous national vote, the third Republic of Armenia was born on September 21, 1991, to give the Armenian nation the right to build their future, be the masters of their land and regain statehood.

Like in 1918, the new-born republic had to rebuild the state after the war. If the First Republic will be engraved on the national memory for the Sardarapat victory, so the origin of the Third Republic is certainly bound with the liberation of Artsakh.

Now, Armenia is struggling to build a democratic state, form a civil society, improve the lives of its people. We’re assured that this struggle, like a struggle for the freedom of Artsakh will end with our victory.

Happy Independence Day, Armenia!

Genocide Recognition Precondition to Turkey’s EU Bid, Says Euro-Parliament President Martin Shultz

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BERLIN—The President of the European Parliament Martin Shultz announced Monday that Turkey’s integration into Europe is preconditioned by the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, reiterating the body’s 1987 decision.

“Turkey should recognize the Armenian Genocide and it would be considered as a precondition to enter the European Union,” said Shultz whose remarks were posted on the official Web site of his Left Party of Germany, which also welcomed the position. Shultz said that Turkey must face its history.

The European Parliament leader made the statement during a meeting with Turkey’s European Integration Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, who during a press conference later refused to answer questions pertaining to the announcement and comments he made earlier this year in Switzerland, effectively denying the Armenian Genocide.

The President of the European Parliament Martin Shultz stated about it at the meeting with the Turkish State Minister and the Minister for the EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis. They talked about the official role of Turkey in Syria, visa issues and Turkey’s possible membership in the European Union.

Instead Bagis told reporters that Switzerland was not an EU member and “I will not spend a single second to speak about issues, which do not concern the European Union.”

 

kurdish freedom fighters, PKK hits unarmed soldiers returning from leave: 10 killed, 60 injured

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BİNGÖL Turkey,

Ten soldiers were killed and 60 were injured today after a Turkish military convoy transporting unarmed soldiers returning from leave was hit by a rocket before coming under fire in an ambush conducted by suspected militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey.
Some 200 soldiers who had returned from sick or home leave were being transported to their respective military units with a convoy of 5 buses, with 10 armored vehicles escorting the transports. The traveling soldiers were unarmed and in civilian clothing, Bingöl Gov. Mustafa Hakan Güvençer said. The convoy was traveling on the road between Bingöl and Muş when a bus in the convoy was hit by a rocket at around 12:45 p.m. Militants hiding on the side of the road opened fire on the vehicles with assault rifles, prompting a firefight with soldiers guarding the convoy. The bus which was hit by the rocket caught on fire; soldiers trapped inside the vehicle escaped through the smashed windows as clashes erupted.
Güvençer said bus in the convoy burst into flames after the attack, adding that the explosion was caused by rocket hitting the vehicle. “Seven soldiers were killed and 63 were injured,” he said. Eight of the injured soldiers were in “critical condition,” Güvençer said initially and added that four of them were sent to a hospital in Elazığ with ambulance aircraft.
Broadcaster CNNTürk later reported three of the injured soldiers succumbed to their injuries, bringing the toll to 10 dead.
A village guard who was on the scene told Doğan news agency that he went up to the blast zone right after the attack. “There were no explosives planted in the ground. They launched two rockets from a hill, hitting one of the vehicles. It went up in a ball of fire,” he was quoted as saying.
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

TURKEY’S NEW ANTI-ARMENIAN PROVOCATION IN SWITZERLAND

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news.am September 16, 2012 | 10:53

Turkey will convene a conference on September 18 at its embassy in Bern, Switzerland, and not only the Swiss National Council members, but also American denialist historian Justin McCarthy are invited to this event, Nouvelles d’Armenie monthly of France reports.
The Switzerland-Turkey Parliamentary Group leaders likewise will attend the meeting, Swiss DRS Radio informs.
Group’s leader Alec von Graffenried, however, expressed discontent over McCarthy being invited to the event, in which the Group’s Co-Chair Andreas Gross likewise will participate.
“When someone invites you, you can’t determine the ‘menu.’ Nonetheless, the owner must know that we don’t ‘eat’ everything,” Gross stated, pointing to the campaign of genocide denial.
“We insured ourselves by saying that we wish no provocation. We, too, were assured of this,” von Graffenried said, in his turn.
But Switzerland-Armenia Friendship Group Chairman Ueli Leuenberger criticized this position.
“I believe the Switzerland-Turkey Parliamentary Group leaders are working completely irresponsibly,” he stated, and expressed a concern that the Turkish side will exploit von Graffenried’s and Gross’ attendance to the conference.
To note, Genocide denial is a crime punishable by law in Switzerland.

Eight Turkish police officers were killed in a mine attack by the PKK in Bingöl

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BİNGÖL – Hürriyet Daily News

Eight Turkish police officers were killed in a mine attack by the PKK in Bingöl, bringing the total number of killed security officers to 30 since the beginning of September

Eight policemen were killed and nine more were wounded yesterday in the eastern province of Bingöl’s Karlıova district in a mine blast that occurred as police vehicles were passing through the area, Doğan news agency reported.
The mine was detonated by remote control by suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The police officers killed in the attack were identified as Gökhan Kuzu, Fatih Celayir, Cuma Mercimek, Samet Kırcalı, Ümit Yıldırım, Murat Toprak, Osman Küçükdilan and Şeyhmus Karakut. One civilian, a teenage girl, was also wounded amid the chaos by a canister shot in the area.
Clashes continued in the area afterwards as security forces sought to locate the militants responsible for the attack.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu condemned the strike and said such attacks would not shake Turkey’s will in its fight with terror. Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek also said they would not allow the attack to drag Turkey into chaos and terror.
Meanwhile, four Turkish soldiers were killed and five more were wounded Sept. 15 in a suspected PKK attack during the passing of a military convoy, Doğan news agency reported.
Explosives were detonated remotely by suspected PKK members as the military convoy was passing through a village 35 kilometers from the town center of the eastern province of Hakkari at around 2 p.m.
Operations followed the blast, as armored vehicles and helicopters were sent to the area immediately. Meanwhile, the Hakkari Governor’s Office announced in a written statement that 28 PKK militants were killed in the area yesterday. Some 123 militants have been caught in the area in the last 10 days, the statement also said.
High numbers
At least 30 Turkish security personnel have been killed by PKK militants in the eastern part of Turkey since the beginning of September, while more than 150 PKK militants have also been killed, according to reports. Ten Turkish soldiers were killed and seven were injured in attacks by PKK in the southeastern province of Şırnak on Sept. 2. Some 373 PKK militants have been killed in operations carried out over five months, while 88 Turkish soldiers have also lost their lives in the last nine months, the army was quoted as saying Sept. 9.

Arsine Khanjyan: Turkey will recognize Armenian Genocide when it is able to look at its own “bloody” history

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11:21, 17 September, 2012

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS:

Turkeywill recognize the Armenian Genocide only when it finds strength in itself to look at its own “bloody” history and realizes that their actions were nothing but a crime. It is necessary also that the members of the Turkish society ask themselves, who am I in reality with my bad and good qualities and genetic memory. This was reported to Armenpress by the Canadian Armenian famous actress and producer Arsine Khanjyan. According to her, this all will come true, when the Turkish people themselves begin clarifying the history and exert pressure.

“They should understand that they have lived in lie for so many years and each of them will feel that in their families there is a part of that “crime”, that their grandfather was one of the implementators of the crime of the year of 1915”, – said Arsine Khanjyan. The actress is certain that the denial policy is to the detriment of the current generation. “This very denial makes them a part of that continuous crime”, – said the actress.Armeniashould pay a great attention to the Armenians living inTurkey, notwithstanding the fact if they are still Christians or forcibly made Muslims. They should join the other minorities living inTurkeyand make concrete actions. “I hope that we will come to a certain result in that case. At least, I hope”, – said Arsine.

In this issue the actress highlights the role of the international community as well. “The international community is responsible for the denial as Turkey. The international community should cease all the discussions and negotiations on this issue and look at this problem without political interest”, – said Arsine emphasizing that not only Armenians should cry about it but also the allies. According to her, notwithstanding that Holocaust was recognized byGermany, the Turkish cannot find strength in them to accept the reality. There is only one reason,Turkeylacks civilized society. “People never forget about a crime, genocide. The further generations ofArmeniaandTurkeywill always face this part of the history of their countries and it will never be forgotten. And for the sake of the Armenian and Turkish generations the international structures should exert pressure to settle the issue”, – said Arsine.

In the years of 1892-1923 the Turkish government organized the Armenian Genocide, during which mass deportation and massacre of more than 1.5 million people from the Western Armenia, Cilicia andOttoman  Empirewas carried out. Conditionally the beginning of the Genocide is considered to be the April 24 1915, when 600 Armenian intellectuals were arrested and then killed inConstantinople.

Fars news agency: Turkish Airline Flying Al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Syrian Borders

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News number: 9106240242  17:25 | 2012-09-15

by: Iran’s Fars news agency

Turkish Airline Flying Al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Syrian Borders

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkey’s national air carrier, Turkish Air, has been transiting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants from North Waziristan in Pakistan to the Turkish borders with Syria, sources revealed on Saturday, mentioning that the last group were flown to Hatay on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012

“The Turkish intelligence agency sent 93 Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists from Waziristan to Hatay province near the border with Syria on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012 and via the Karachi-Istanbul flight route,” the source told FNA on Saturday, adding that the flight had a short stop in Istanbul.

The 93 terrorists transited to the Turkish border with Syria included Al-Qaeda militants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a group of Arabs residing in Waziristan, he added.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of his information, further revealed that the Turkish intelligence agency is coordinating its measures with the CIA and the Saudi and Qatari secret services.

FNA dispatches from Pakistan said new al-Qaeda members were trained in North Waziristan until a few days ago and then sent to Syria, but now they are transferring their command center to the borders between Turkey and Syria as a first step to be followed by a last move directly into the restive parts of Syria on the other side of the border.

The al-Qaeda, backed by Turkey, the US and its regional Arab allies, had set up a new camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Salafi and Jihadi terrorists and dispatched them to Syria via Turkish borders.

“A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and logistical backup of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of western states, specially the US,” a source told FNA earlier this month.

Ali Mahdian told FNA that the US and the British governments have been playing with the al-Qaeda through their Arab proxy regimes in the region in a bid to materialize their goals, specially in Syria.

He said the Saudi and Qatari regimes serve as interlocutors to facilitate the CIA and MI6 plans in Syria through instigating terrorist operations by Salafi and Arab Jihadi groups, adding that the terrorists do not know that they actually exercise the US plans.

“Turkey has also been misusing extremist Salafis and Al-Qaeda terrorists to intensify the crisis in Syria and it has recently augmented its efforts in this regard by helping the new Al-Qaeda branch set up a camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Al-Qaeda and Taliban members as well as Turkish Salafis and Arab Jihadis who are later sent to Syria for terrorist operations,” said the source.

He said the camp in Waziristan is not just a training center, but a command center for terrorist operations against Syria.

Yet, the source said the US and Britain are looking at the new Al-Qaeda force as an instrument to attain their goals and do not intend to support them to ascend to power, “because if Salafi elements in Syria ascend to power, they will create many problems for the US, the Western states and Turkey in future”.

“Thus, the US, Britain and Turkey are looking at the Al-Qaeda as a tactical instrument,” he said, and warned of the regional and global repercussions of the US and Turkish aid to the Al-Qaeda and Salafi groups.

“Unfortunately, these group of countries have just focused on the short-term benefits that the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda can provide for them and ignore the perils of this support in the long run,” he said.

“At present, the western countries, specially Britain which hosts and controls the Jihadi Salafi groups throughout the world are paving the ground for these extremists to leave their homes – mostly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as those who live in Europe and the US – for Waziristan,” the source added.

In relevant remarks, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi last week blamed certain states, the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda for terrorist operations which have claimed the lives of thousands of people in his country, and said terrorist groups supported by certain foreign actors are misusing differences in his country to bring Syria into turmoil.

Addressing the 16th heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) here in Tehran on Thursday, the Syrian premier noted terrorist attacks on his nation, and said the “terrorists are backed up by certain foreign states”.

“Many countries allege to be supporting peaceful solutions in Syria, but they oppose Annan’s plan in practice,” he said, and cautioned, “The responsibility for the failure of this plan lies on their shoulder as they strove to keep the Syrian crisis going and falsified events.”

“The world should know that the Syrian crisis, in fact, rises from foreign meddling. Certain well-known countries from inside and outside the region are seeking instability of Syria,” the Syrian prime minister complained.

Elaborating on the recent developments in Syria, al-Halqi said, “It has been proved that foreign-backed terrorist groups have been misusing events and killing the innocent people.”

“These terrorists include Salafis and Al-Qaeda Takfiri groups,” he reiterated, and added, “Those states that support terrorism and oppose talks should be given moral and economic punishments as they are part of the problem in Syria.”

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of stirring unrests in Syria once again.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Bashar al-Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad’s government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons – most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past – has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9106240242

Special Thanks to: FNA Bureau in Islamabad, FNA Bureau in Kabul, FNA Bureau in Damascus

The Turks are great in Taking care of their murders, soon to be released Hrant dink murder Yasin Hayal

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Hrant Dink murder instigator may be released soon

September 14, 2012 – 16:50 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net –  Yasin Hayal, who is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the assassination of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, could be released in four months due to a legal loophole, according to a lawyer for the Dink family.

The court that issued the sentences in the Dink murder trial failed to properly send the file to the Supreme Court of Appeals, Hürriyet Daily News reported citing weekly Agos, of which Hrant Dink was editor-in-chief when he was murdered in January 2007,.

“All of the suspects were acquitted by the court on charges of being a member of an organization, so the maximum time Hayal could serve [if the sentence is not approved by the Appeals Court] is six years,” Fethiye Çetin, a lawyer for the Dink family, was quoted as saying. “It is almost impossible for the Supreme Court of Appeals to announce its ruling in the next four months.”

A recent amendment to the Turkish Penal Code has limited the maximum time to be spent in prison to five years, except on organized crime or terrorism charges, with the Supreme Court of Appeals having the authority to extend this for one year.

Bahri Belen, another lawyer for the Dink family, said the issue was controversial. “We can’t know for sure if the verdict was sent to the appeals court properly,” he told the HDN. “But as long as a sentence is approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals, any convict could be released on such legal grounds.”

The 14th Court of Serious Crimes sent the verdict to the Supreme Court of Appeals on June 6, but it was sent back to the court because some intervening parties were not officially informed about it. The court wrote a notice to Istanbul police on Aug. 10 demanding addresses and contact information for the intervening parties, showing that it still was not ready to re-send the verdict, Agos said.

The verdict will first be submitted to the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Çetin said, and he will inform both parties of his opinion. Then the appeal will be checked. The suspects’ lawyer will probably ask for a hearing date, further delaying a verdict.

The instigator of the Dink murder, Yasin Hayal, was sentenced on Jan. 17 to aggravated life imprisonment, while the triggerman, Ogün Samast, had earlier been sentenced to 22 years in prison by a juvenile court.

In its ruling, the court argued that there was not enough evidence indicating the existence of a conspiracy behind the crime, despite lingering doubts. A prosecutor then appealed the ruling in the trial on March 30, arguing that the crime was an organized hit.

Azerbaijan oil money in full force in US Gongress, U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) now under Azeri belly too.

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September 14, 2012 – 17:36 AMT

According to PanARMENIAN.Net report said Rohrabacher (R-CA). “If the people on the ground don’t want to be ruled by the mullah dictatorship in Iran, then we should support their right to determine their future through a referendum. Mr. Rohrabacher (R-CA). Now becoming the champion of the Azeri people. Will my question to Mr. Rohrabacher is how about the a referendum in Turkey occupied Kurdistan, Armenia, Greek… no that will not happen because they do not have oil money like Azerbaijan???

U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has introduced a House Concurrent Resolution that states the “Azeri people, currently divided between Azerbaijan and Iran, have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country, if they so choose.”

“The Azeri people have an innate right to choose their own political structure and to choose their country,” said Rohrabacher. “It is not up to bureaucrats in Washington or the mullah dictatorship in Iran. The ethnic Azeri’s in Azerbaijan enjoy sovereignty and independence; there is no reason why the Azeri population in Iran should not be able to make that same choice. This principle holds true for all the people who live in Iran.”

Rep. Rohrabacher wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton previously that “the Azeri homeland was split between Imperial Russia and the Persian Empire in 1828 without the consent of the Azeri people.” Inspired by political discussions currently ongoing within Azerbaijan’s Parliament, Rep. Rohrabacher stated that,

“My resolution puts the US on the side of the Azeri people and with the people within Iran,” said Rohrabacher. “If the people on the ground don’t want to be ruled by the mullah dictatorship in Iran, then we should support their right to determine their future through a referendum. It is disconcerting to me that the State Department and Tehran agree that the people of Iran should be forced to live within the borders and under the same jurisdiction no matter how the majority of the Azeris believe. I am calling on the government of Iran to provide its Azeri population with a referendum to determine their own future state.”

Rep. Rohrabacher is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.