Elizabeth Furse: “I rise today on behalf of 40 million people who have an identity, but do not have a country. The Kurdish people. Their…”

“I rise today on behalf of 40 million people who have an identity, but do not have a country. The Kurdish people. Their land continues to be a setting for war and destruction that has lasted for decades. The Kurds are a persecuted minority. It is a crime in Turkey to talk about Kurds or Kurdish issues. One cannot fly a Kurdish flag or even address another by his Kurdish name. Madam Speaker, I am outraged wherever violations of human rights occur, but I am particularly enraged and distressed that our country continues to ignore the Kurdish people and their plight. For years, the U.S. has neglected reports and testimony from the Kurdish people about the human rights violations. Madam Speaker, our government must engage in and develop a Kurdish policy. We cannot continue to stand by as millions of their people suffer. Now, Turkey is an important partner of the United States. It is a NATO member, gets huge amounts of money from us, but its abuses of the Kurdish people are unacceptable. I would like to draw my colleagues' attention to Leyla Zana, who is an elected member of the Turkish Parliament. She is the first Kurdish woman to ever be elected. She is also a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. But Leyla Zana was arrested and severely tortured by the Turkish police in 1988. What was her crime?…”