Dear President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan
Tel: +90 312 470 23 08 +90 312 422 10 00
Fax : +90 312 470 13 16 +90 312 422 26 67 Fax
cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr
Considering Russia has callously and criminally invaded the sovereign territory of a neighboring country.
— and that the 1994 Budapest Memorandum commits Russia, the US, and the UK to guarantee the security of this country because it voluntarily gave up it’s hundreds of nuclear weapons
— and the failure of this guarantee is a spur to every near-nuclear state to get their own nukes, like Iran, bordering Turkey
— and merger with Russia is rejected by 59% of the Crimeans; and the illegal referendum without a “no change” option will be held under conditions of armed threat, intimidation, and fraud
— and this aggression by the giant Russia on a neighbor destabilizes Europe and is the worst aggression on their part since Afghanistan and Georgia
— and this aggression subjects the Tatars (a Turkic people) to further discrimination and threats, after a history of Soviet genocide and deportation
— which has reportedly already started with Tatar homes being marked in preparation for possible ethnic cleansing
— and massive theft of Turkish investments, and joint projects w Ukraine is taking place
— and Turkey, by the Montreux Convention and 1982 amendment, has absolute control of the following zone
—- WE PETITION TURKEY TO CLOSE THE BOSPHORUS STRAIT TO RUSSIAN WARSHIPS UNTIL RUSSIA WITHDRAWS ALL RECENT FORCES (INCLUDING UNMARKED SOLDIERS) FROM THE CRIMEAN PENNINSULA, AND RETURNS IT TO UKRAINIAN CONTROL —
This is a passive action that makes the Black Sea Fleet useless as a warm water fleet, and may force Russian withdrawal from Crimea, since the alternative – attacking Turkey, a NATO member, is unimaginable. The Turkish Straits are 100 km long and were closed to the Nazi’s all through WW2.
by Michael Hammerschlag US journalist in Kyiv http://hammernews.com +380-637519199 Ukr cell CloseBosphorus@hotmail.com 1-425-606-5936 msg