In a gut punch to Turkey, America’s 67-year NATO ally, a group of United States senators has urged the State Department to expedite a visa for a man who calls himself “Gen. Mazloum Kobani” to address Congress and meet with President Trump in the White House.
“Mazloum Kobani” is the code name of a member of the executive committee of the PKK, which Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union have designated a terrorist organization. His real name is Ferhat Abdi Şahin.
Şahin has been shamelessly promoted in the American media as the commander of the YPG forces fighting against the Islamic State in Syria. But his decadeslong history with the PKK serves as proof of the superficial and meaningless distinction between the YPG and the PKK.
This isn’t just a diplomatic “slap in the face.” It’s an insult to the thousands of Turkish families who have lost loved ones at the hands of this notorious terrorist organization.
Why would U.S. lawmakers roll out the red carpet for the top commander of a terrorist group, who is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice?
The senators are extending an invitation to Şahin due to his role as the head of the YPG, which the U.S. has chosen to support as part of its counterterrorism strategy in Syria. This decision is riddled with too many contradictions to list. This invitation not only damages Turkish-American relations, but also constitutes a potential crime under U.S. law, given the YPG’s ties with the PKK.
Şahin worked for nearly 20 years under Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, which is responsible for killing more than 40,000 innocent Turkish and Kurdish people, including teachers, villagers, soldiers, children, and the elderly.
A Turkish court has issued a warrant for Şahin for ordering a string of deadly terrorist attacks targeting innocent civilians, security forces, and the police. The charges are based on the testimony of PKK members, as well as radio communications intercepted by Turkish security forces.
The PKK has various branches and offshoots. Terror organizations such as these are multinational in scale and the threat they pose is global. America ought to support, not undermine, Turkey in its fight against the PKK, just as Turkey has supported U.S. counterterrorism efforts.
The Turkish public will not forget or forgive those who invited Şahin to the U.S. in order to legitimize him. Our NATO ally’s efforts to glorify a terror organization’s leader will be etched in our memory for many years.
We will continue to fight terrorists, no matter where their support comes from. The fight against terror cannot succeed until the day a terrorist is considered a terrorist, not someone else’s hero.
The American support for this organization will be a dark stain that is taught in history books as a foreign policy fiasco. Congress should invite the families of victims of this terror group instead of the leader of that organization.
Turkey has been the fiercest NATO partner in the fight against terrorism. We have been saving American lives from ISIS and al Qaeda threats for years. American political leaders ought to respond with appropriate concern about Turkish lives.
Şahin’s invitation to the U.S. will create a lasting wound in the hearts and minds of thousands of innocent Turkish families that have lost their loved ones.
It is only befitting of an ally to cooperate with us against PKK terrorism, including all its branches, such as the YPG.
The reception of a terror leader who is responsible for Turkish loss of life will cause irreparable damage to our relationship and to our counterterrorism cooperation.
We can only hope that U.S. lawmakers come to their senses and recognize that Washington is no place for terrorists.
Fahrettin Altun is communications director of the Republic of Turkey.
