The dreadful acts of terrorism on September 11 that caused the death of thousands of innocent people at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the plane crash in Pennsylvania caused a deep sorrow in the Turkish community at RPI, as they did in our American friends.

As citizens of Turkey, a country that suffered tremendously under various forms of terrorism for nearly 30 years, we condemn these despicable acts and share the pain and suffering of the American people.

The horrific scenes that outraged the whole world on September 11 once again showed us that terrorism is an evil that has neither religion nor ethnicity but threatens the life and well being of people from every religion and every ethnicity. It merely speaks the language of violence no matter what language its actors speak. We believe that every terrorist attack, independent of its origin, is directed against the entire human race.

Hence, terrorism can be eliminated from the earth only through intense international cooperation of every government and every nation. We are confident that our country, Turkey, as a long-standing member of NATO and close ally of United States, will do anything within its power to contribute to the fight against this common enemy. The people and the government of the United States have always given us their support and a helping hand when we most needed it. Whether it was during our country’s fight against terrorism, or during the devastating earthquake of 1999, the United States has shared in our grief.

The United States is a diverse society, a country that embraces different ethnic and religious backgrounds, a country where people have the opportunity to live peacefully and harmoniously. We strongly believe that no terrorist acts will be able to disrupt this peace and harmony.

We, as the Turkish students at RPI, again strongly denounce these outrageous acts of terror and sincerely hope that justice will be found. Our prayers are with the victims and we share our deepest sympathy with our American friends.