What Would You Tell Obama?

On Sunday night, US President Barack Obama comes to Turkey’s capital Ankara. On Monday (6 April), he is to address the Turkish parliament and speak to party leaders. It is known that he will ask for soldiers for Afghanistan and that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) will want to discuss the fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

On Tuesday, Obama will come to Istanbul. Unfortunately, we at bianet will not be able to speak to him. In fact, because he is coming, the Istanbul governor will shut down roads and squares, making our lives more difficult.

However, we will use this medium to call on Obama. He has made the decision to close Guantanamo Bay within a year, and we want him to continue with policies of “change” in other areas:

Please close down the US military bases in Turkey. You could start with the İncirlik base near Adana, in the south of Turkey, built in 1951. Your country used it illegally for its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it harbours nuclear weapons.

• Pull out of Iraq immediately, and give up on trying to control Afghanistan. Your previous government terrorised the whole world in the name of “war on terrorism” and shelved rights and freedoms. We would like them back.
• Recognise the International Criminal Court so that your country’s leaders can be tried for war crimes that have been alleged. We want justice.
• If you do not take decisive steps to deal with global warming, you will drag your country and the whole world into distaster – undoubtedly, the poorest will go first. We ask for urgent change.
• Abolish the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, 37 people were killed by the state in your country last year. This is unacceptable.
• Stop wrestling with Cuba and lift the embargo. Also give up supporting fascist leadership in places around the world. You can make up for your support of such regimes in the past. It is difficult, but not impossible.
• Realise that capitalism is not the solution. Become socialist – you will see that everything is better than. (EÜ/AG)