美国国家公共电台 NPR Fearing Arrest At Home, Turkish Military Officers Seek Asylum In U.S.

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

In Turkey, the government has been arresting people who've been implicated¹ in the failed political coup² last summer. Tens of thousands of Turkish military officers, teachers, judges and journalists have been jailed on orders from the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Human rights groups have complained about the ongoing³ arrests, even allegations of torture at the hands of the Erdogan government.

Now, the story has taken a new turn, to Virginia Beach, Va., of all places. NPR has learned that more than two dozen Turkish navy, air force and army officers who worked at a NATO command there are now seeking asylum⁴ in the U.S. NPR's Tom Bowman has the exclusive story, and he joins me now from Virginia Beach. So, Tom, what are these officers telling you? Why do they say they need asylum here?

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE⁵: Well, Rachel, they say they all received arrest warrants after the coup. Many of their names were on a long list of more than 1,000 Turkish officers. They deny any involvement in the coup and are afraid they'll be imprisoned⁶ if they go home. They said only one Turkish officer decided⁷ to go home in the summer from this NATO training command here, and he was arrested and is now jailed.

And, Rachel, I was able to sit down with a half dozen of these men at their homes. They ranged from a army major to more senior officers. They asked that their names not be used, but all showed me their NATO military IDs, and some of them wanted their voices disguised.

MARTIN: All right. Let's take a listen.

BOWMAN: Hey. Tom Bowman, how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Hi. Nice to meet you.

BOWMAN: The senior Turkish officer greets us at his front door on a quiet suburban⁸ street. Glasses of tea and sweets are served. He begins to tell his story. The first he learned of his dismissal came from an official Turkish government list his fellow officers showed him. It listed 1,200 implicated officers. His name was among them.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Through interpreter) They say passports canceled. All rights are taken away from us. My ranks are stripped.

BOWMAN: Did it say anything about why they're doing this?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Through interpreter) Actually, they had two sentences. They said I was participating in the coup and something - being a Gulenist.

BOWMAN: Being a Gulenist - that refers to Fetullah Gulen. He's a cleric living in the United States who Turkey says is a mastermind of the coup. Turkey has also implicated Gulen in this week's assassination⁹ of the Russian ambassador in Turkey. Gulen has denied both charges. I asked the senior officer about his next step.

Will you seek asylum here?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Through interpreter) Yes, I did.

BOWMAN: You sought asylum?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Through interpreter) Yes, I applied¹⁰ for asylum because we must do this.

BOWMAN: What do you think will happen to you if you went home to Turkey?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Through interpreter) Oh, it's easy to answer because more than 50 officers experienced this one. They went back, and all of them are in jail now.

BOWMAN: All the Turkish officers we spoke¹¹ with here denied following Gulen or having anything to do with the coup, and all of them are seeking asylum. We enter a second house, take off our shoes in customary fashion. More tea is served, and several more officers sit down and talk. All have arrest warrants. That came as a surprise to one officer. He's told his name is also on the list.

When did you learn that?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Through interpreter) I just learned that.

BOWMAN: Right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Through interpreter) Yes, yes.

BOWMAN: What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Through interpreter) Upsetting.

BOWMAN: One of the officers, part of the Turkish navy, says his family members have been approached by police back home.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: (Through interpreter) I just had a phone call with my brother yesterday, and he told me police officers arrived at my family home and then my brother's home to arrest me. And I think, if I were in Turkey right now, I would be arrested.

BOWMAN: But did they think you were there? Or...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: (Through interpreter) I think this is part of the manipulation. They know I am not in the country. But, you know, they try to put pressure on those associated with me. And then, also, there is some possibility that they will, you know, start to arrest our family members.

BOWMAN: Several of the officers say the real reason they've been targeted is because they're English-speakers and they've spent time with Americans and served under NATO command - all suspect now under the Erdogan government.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Through interpreter) For myself, I did a master's degree in the United States, and I was in NATO at the time. In Turkey, they blamed that the so-called coup was arranged by the United States or NATO. Based on this crazy fact, we are being targeted.

BOWMAN: President Erdogan has charged that some American officers were actually supporting the coup or were aware of it, charges the Obama administration has firmly rejected. The Turks have provided what they say is evidence that Gulen was connected to the coup. State Department says it's now reviewing it. Now, out of work, the Turkish officers are dipping into their savings¹², downsizing into smaller homes, even selling cars and furniture - not only to live, but to pay legal fees. But one says they are actually lucky.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: (Through interpreter) Right now, I have my family. I have my freedom. I feel safe here thanks to United States. But in Turkey, I am very worried about my friends. I am worried about my family. I am worried about people - innocent people who lost their freedom, who lost their basic human rights.

BOWMAN: Stuck in legal limbo¹³ in Virginia Beach, the officers say they're getting support from their American colleagues, who offer encouragement and invitations. One Turkish officer said he had Thanksgiving dinner with some American officers.

MARTIN: Fascinating, Tom. We should just note again that we disguised the voices of some of the people you spoke with because of their concerns about their own safety. So, as you note, these Turkish officers have applied for asylum. How long does that take?

BOWMAN: Well, Rachel, it can take more than two years, so these officers will have a long wait. And if that doesn't work, they told me they'll seek asylum in other countries. But here's the thing - just the mere¹⁴ fact that these Turkish officers are seeking asylum in the U.S. will clearly upset the government of President Erdogan. Remember, he thinks that, you know, the U.S. is involved in this somehow or at least supporting it or aware of some of the things. So the U.S. desperately¹⁵ needs Turkey - that's part of the problem here - because U.S. warplanes fly out of a Turkish base to attack the Islamic State in neighboring Syria.

MARTIN: Complicated, to say the least. NPR's Tom Bowman. Thanks so much, Tom.

BOWMAN: You're welcome, Rachel.

1 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

13 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

14 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

15 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。