Press Releases

Embassy Press Statement

Ankara, April 3, 2006

A column that appeared in “Milliyet” on April 1 cites a statement that a U.S. official from our consulate in Adana allegedly made during a meeting last year with the Batman provincial chairman of DEHAP.  The statement attributed to the U.S. official suggests that the United States seeks to fan the flames of ethnic nationalism in Turkey.  Nothing could be further from the truth, and the U.S. official made no such remark.  The reality is that Turkey has had no better friend than the United States in the fight against the PKK.  The United States continues to work together with Turkey in an effort to eliminate PKK terrorism.  We are saddened and concerned by the violence that has occurred in southeastern Turkey over the past week and call on all parties to exercise restraint and restore calm and order.