marxisten komen the VS niet meer zo makkelijk
binnen - 15.10.2002 12:15
 http://nuance.dhs.org/lbo-talk/current/0942.html Bush admin pulling visas of Marxist intellectuals ---- van mijn favoriete lijst Left Business Observer
[This is from the excellent Turkish political economist Sungur
Savran, who's been a guest on my radio show twice. Please spread far
& wide.]
Dear Friends,
This is a circular letter aiming to warn friends living in the US
about the treatment meted out to Dr.Haluk Gerger, one of the foremost
Marxist intellectuals and human rights activists of Turkey, by the
Bush administration and the INS. This incident is even graver than
that experienced by Tariq Ali at the beginning of this year as he was
flying out of Germany, since as I will shortly explain, this was
methodical and deliberate whereas in Tariq Ali's case a lot of
bureaucratic stupidity and overshooting was involved. Hence it is
clear proof that, in its attack on civil liberties, first and
foremost those of aliens, the Bush administration targets not only
so-called Islamic terrorists, but also leftist critics of the
imperialist system. I firmly believe that publicising Dr.Gerger's
case would be very important for the struggle against the policies of
the Bush administration and for civil rights in the US. That is why I
am sending out this letter to you.
Dr.Gerger, accompanied by his wife, arrived at Newark Airport, NJ, on
October 1, 2002 for a private visit. He was immediately interned and
told that his 10-year visa, granted in 2000, had been revoked by the
State Department. He was also told that he would be questioned, which
he promptly refused. He was then fingerprinted and photographed and
was put on the return flight of the plane aboard which he had
arrived. (His wife was told that she was free to enter the US, but
declined to do so out of solidarity with her husband.)
Dr.Gerger is a specialist in international relations renowned for his
work inside Turkey. He received his Master's degree at the Paul Nitze
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins
University in Washington, DC, and also studied and did research at
the American University of Beirut, Stockholm University and Oxford
University. He was associate professor of international relations at
the Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University until 1982,
when he was illegally removed from his post by the military junta of
the early 1980s. (Those of you who know me well may remember that I
myself resigned from my post at Istanbul University in 1983 in
protest against such practices.) He has taught as visiting professor
at Darmstadt Technical University and the University of Applied
Sciences of Darmstadt, Germany, on various occasions.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Dr.Gerger stood out as a staunch defender of
democracy, human rights and the fight of the Kurdish people for
recognition and dignity. He was convicted twice for pure crimes of
opinion by the notorious State Security Courts in the 1990s and
imprisoned for a total period of 24 months in 1994-95 and 1998. His
relentless defense of human rights was recognised by many
international and local human rights and progressive organisations
and he was awarded, among others, the Hellman-Hammett Award of Human
Rights in 1966, was an honorary guest of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science (AAAS) the same year and was made honorary
member of the British and Austrian chapters of Pen Club
International. Apart from numerous articles in journals and
newspapers, he has published many books on international relations,
containing a healthy dose of critique of the imperialist policies of
various US administrations. (I will forward a brief résumé of Dr.
Gerger to those who may wish to have a more detailed information.)
It was no doubt for his outspoken critique of such imperialist
policies and his unswerving struggle against the reppressive policies
of the Turkish government, one of the closest allies of Washington,
that he was considered to be a "threat" by the State Department,
which, to add insult to injury, did not notify Dr. Gerger of the
revocation of his visa, despite the fact that tha American embassy in
Ankara was in full possession of his coordinates. Since Dr.Gerger is
such a prominent figure in Turkey itself as an opponent of the
repressive policies of the government, there can be not a shade of
doubt that the State Department acted on the basis of purely
political motives in the hysteric atmosphere of the post 9/11 period.
I personally believe that publicising Dr.Gerger's case within the
United States would be a service to the American movement against the
imperialistic amd militaristic policies of the Bush administration
and for the protection of civil rights. The impending war on Iraq
makes this even more urgent from another point of view. Turkey will
be a major frontline state and an ally of the US on the ground and
Turkish intellectuals will no doubt suffer new instances of
repression at the hands of the Turkish state.
I can think of at least two different modes of action. One would be a
petition to be circulated among American intellectuals condemning
this blatant attack on the left and defenders of human rights and
published in some prominent US publications. The other would be to
take legal action against the US. (Both Dr.Gerger and I are aware
that all governments jealously guard their privileges to issue and
revoke visas and, therefore, any legal action on that issue would
probably be condemned to defeat. However, a civil case for the
failure to notify Dr. Gerger in time concerning the revocation of his
visa might perhaps be a possibility.)
I would thus ask those among you who think something can be done
regarding this case to suggest any ideas as to how we might wish to
go about these or other methods of publicising Dr.Gerger's case. I
would also ask you to suggest any names of lawyers who would be
experts on visa and immigration matters.
In solidarity.
Sungur Savran
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Actually, I just found one story at
http://www.ozgurluk.org/press/msg00391.html . S
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He does realize that use of the phrase "so-called Islamic terrorists"
makes me and everybody to my right stop reading immediately?
If not, someone should clue him in...
Brad DeLong
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