September 29, 2005
Turkish Women, Too, Have Words With U.S. Envoy (on Iraq War)
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
ISTANBUL, Sept. 28 - Under Secretary of State Karen P. Hughes, seeking
common ground with leading women's rights advocates in Turkey, was
confronted instead on Wednesday with anguished denunciations of the war in
Iraq and what the women said were American efforts to export democracy by
force.
It was the second day in a row that Ms. Hughes found herself at odds with
groups of women on her "public diplomacy" tour, aimed at improving the
American image in the Middle East. On Tuesday, she told Saudi Arabian women
she would support efforts to raise their status but was taken aback when
some of them responded that Americans misunderstand their embrace of
traditions.
She met Wednesday with about 20 Turkish feminist leaders in Ankara, the
capital. She introduced herself, as she has done on this trip, as "a
working mom" and said she was there to emphasize the many things Turkey and
the United States had in common. The women welcomed her but had a different
emphasis.
"You are very angry with Turkey, I know," said Hidayet Tuskal, a director
of the Capital City Women's Platform, referring to what she characterized
as United States reaction to opposition in Turkey to the Iraq war, which
she said was a feminist issue because women and children were dying daily.
"I'm feeling myself wounded," Ms. Tuskal added. "I'm feeling myself
insulted here."
Fatma Nevin Vargun, identifying herself as a Kurdish rights advocate, said
she was "ashamed" of the war and added that the United States bore
responsibility. Referring to the arrest of a war protester at the White
House on Monday, she added, "This was a pity for us as well."
With her brow furrowed, Ms. Hughes replied: "I can appreciate your concern
about war. No one likes war." She went on to say that "my friend President
Bush" did all he could to avoid a war in Iraq, but then asserted about
Iraq: "It is impossible to say that the rights of women were better under
Saddam Hussein than they are today." She said that women had been tortured,
raped and killed under the leadership ousted by American troops.
The comments about Iraq underscored the uneasiness in Turkey since planning
for the invasion began in 2002, when Turkish leaders equivocated and then
declined to let American troops enter Iraq from the Turkish border. Turks
are now worried that a federalized Iraq with a semiautonomous Kurdish
region in its north would encourage Kurdish separatists in eastern Turkey.
Ms. Hughes, near the end of her five-day trip, also met Wednesday with
Turkish Foreign Ministry officials and flew from Ankara to Istanbul later
for more sessions with groups of citizens and people the State Department
says are "opinion leaders" picked by the consulate.
She toured Topkapi Palace, the seat of power and luxury in the old Ottoman
Empire, where she held an "interfaith dialogue" with Muslim, Eastern
Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders. It was another staple of this
trip, intended to emphasize that countries with large Muslim populations
should understand that many Americans are also guided by religious
convictions.
She called on each leader to discuss tolerance and said afterward: "They
assured me that as faith leaders they are prepared to do their part. I hope
this is the beginning of many such conversations."
The women in Ankara were notable because their meeting with Ms. Hughes
began congenially, with her host describing the importance of her support
for their causes. But tough talk followed quickly, politely but firmly.
Feray Salman, a human rights campaigner, said that while she believed in
democracy, the Bush administration was trying to export it by force.
"States cannot interfere through wars," she said. Turkey has charged the
Bush administration with not denouncing violent acts by the banned
Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the P.K.K. Asked by one speaker why the
United States refused to label the group a terrorist organization, Ms.
Hughes said the administration had done just that.
"We condemn P.K.K. terrorism," she said. But then she noted what she called
an irony, that the women were expecting American support for the sometimes
violent Turkish crackdown on Kurdish separatists while also denouncing
American battles with insurgents in Iraq.
"Sometimes you have to engage in combat in order to confront terrorism,"
Ms. Hughes said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/international/europe/29hughes.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1128078449-Aau9zjVPmOa3o407Zyx3WQ
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