05 November 2001

Transcript: U.S. Ambassador Praises Turkish Cooperation in Terrorism War

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:

(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.