Merkel threatens to pull troops from Turkey’s Incirlik military base

May 25, 2017 By administrator

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has threatened to withdraw German soldiers from the Turkish air base in Incirlik. The statement follows a year-long row over allowing German lawmakers to visit soldiers stationed there.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the comments ahead of a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a renewed row over letting German lawmakers have access to troops stationed in Turkey.

“I will make it very clear to the Turkish president during our talks that it is indispensable for our soldiers to be able to be visited by members of the German Bundestag, as ours is a parliamentary military,” Merkel said during her trip to Brussels to attend the NATO summit, where Erdogan will also be in attendance.

“Otherwise we will have to abandon Incirlik,” Merkel added.

Erdogan made flippant comments about the prospect of Germany leaving the base the previous day, saying that if Germany decided to leave the base he would simply say “Auf Wiedersehen.”

Broken relationship

The row between Turkey and Germany over allowing German parliamentarians access to the base has been ongoing for about a year but escalated once more last week when the Turkish government refused to grant visits for lawmakers once more.

Around 250 German soldiers are stationed at the military facility, supporting the US-led coalition against the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) in neighboring Syria and Iraq with reconnaissance flights. Germany also has a refueling jet on the base in Turkey that helps fighter jets from other nations in their fight against IS.

The German government has taken initial steps to assess whether the troops could be moved to another country in the region, with Jordan being one option under discussion.

Turkish-German relations have reached a low point, as the erstwhile allies have run into a series of disagreements in recent times. In addition to the controversy surrounding parliamentary visits to German troops, arrests of German nationals, in particular journalists, under the ongoing state of emergency in Turkey and conflicting strategies for achieving peace in Syria have turned things sour between the two countries.

Refugee crisis

Another bone of contention between Turkey and the European Union at large has been the migrant situation, with Turkey helping to keep hundreds of thousands of migrants at bay following a 2016 migrant deal. To this end, Erdogan also met with European Council chief Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during the NATO summit in Brussels.

Turkey had agreed to curb the flood of migrants into Europe, in return for visa-free travel for Turks to Europe, among other conditions. Brussels, however, said it first wants to see Ankara modify its anti-terrorism laws, which it regards as too broad and far-reaching, often infringing upon fundamental human rights issues especially under the ongoing 10-month state of emergency.

Erdogan’s Guards Beating Protesters Reinforces ‘Terrible Turk’ Image

May 25, 2017 By administrator

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

Armenians and non-Armenians alike were saddened and outraged seeing videos of the attack on 11 protesters who were injured after being hit, kicked and choked by President Erdogan’s security guards in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., on May 16. Regrettably, several thousand Turks shamelessly sent tweets expressing their joy that Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Greeks and Yezidis were bloodied by Turkish thugs!

This vicious brawl has done more damage to the image of Turkey in the United States and around the world than any other brutality recently committed by Turkish soldiers, police or security guards inside Turkey. Turkish denialists constantly complain that Armenian ‘propaganda’ on the Armenian Genocide has stained the reputation of Turks worldwide, ignoring the fact that Turks have tarnished their own image by committing a mass heinous mass crime.

In fact, the May 16 nasty attack by Turkish goons on peaceful protesters has done more to reinforce the ‘Terrible Turk’ image than anything Armenians or others could have done. The Turkish government spends millions of dollars each year to pay public relations firms to present Turkey in the best possible light. However, the latest incident, which was condemned by many Members of Congress and covered widely by the mass media, has blackened the reputation of Turkey and its autocratic President Erdogan to such an extent that even $100 million spent on public relations cannot undo the damage inflicted on their image.

Here are some of the critical comments made by Members of Congress:

Sen. John McCain (Rep.-AZ), Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee, told ABC Nightly News and MSNBC: “We should throw [Turkey’s] Ambassador the hell out of the United States of America!”

In addition, Sen. McCain and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Dem.-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a joint letter to Erdogan asking for an apology.

Four Republican Senators: Marco Rubio (FL), Tom Cotton (AR), Mike Lee (UT), and Ted Cruz (TX) issued a joint statement demanding an immediate apology from the Turkish government.

Condemnatory statements were also issued by: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (Dem.-NY), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (Dem.-RI), Sen. Jack Reed (Dem.-RI), Sen. Ben Cardin (Dem.-MD), Sen. Patrick Leahy (Dem.-VT), and Sen. Ben Sasse (Rep.-NEB).

House Foreign Relations Committee chairman Ed Royce sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Attorney General Jeff Sessions stating: “Agents of foreign governments should never be immune from prosecution for felonious behavior.”

Several other House members also issued statements condemning the Turkish attack: Don Breyer (Dem.-VA), Devin Nunes (Rep.-CA), Adam Schiff (Dem.-CA), Steny Hoyer (Dem.-MD), Frank Pallone (Dem.-NJ), Dave Trott (Rep.-MI), David Valadao (Rep.-CA), Brad Sherman (Dem.-CA), James McGovern (Dem.-MA), Jim Costa (Dem.-CA), Zoe Lofgren (Dem.-CA), Ron DeSantis (Rep.-FL), Tulsi Gabbard (Dem.-HI), Ted Deutch (Dem.-FL), and District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, tweeted: “Clearly Erdogan’s guards feel complete impunity, drawing on tools of repression they use at home and knowing he has their back, no matter what.”

In addition, both the Mayor and Police Chief of Washington, D.C., condemned the brutal attack in the nation’s Capital, shortly after Erdogan met with President Trump in the White House.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told FOX news that the Turkish attack is “simply unacceptable” and is under investigation. Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington, Serdar Kilic, was summoned to the State Department by Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon. The State Department issued a statement condemning the Turkish government “in the strongest possible terms.” The Wall Street Journal reported that the State Department “is exploring ways to block members of Erdogan’s security detail from re-entering the United States.” This is the least the U.S. government should do! Amazingly, Amb. Kilic was quoted as telling a police officer who was trying to break up the fight, “you cannot touch us,” referring to the possible diplomatic immunity granted to some of the Turkish guards. Incredibly, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. Ambassador in Ankara to complain about the behavior of Washington, D.C., police.

The most serious aspect of this attack was the fact that Erdogan was video-taped by Voice of America (Turkish news service) directing his security detail to attack the protesters, according to the Washington Post. Regrettably, this is not the first time Erdogan’s bodyguards have gotten involved in beating or threatening individuals during his overseas trips.

In 2009, then-Prime Minister Erdogan’s security members were involved in a brawl with President Obama’s Secret Service agents.

In 2011, Erdogan’s bodyguards broke the ribs of a United Nations security guard, during an attack at the U.N. headquarters in New York City.

In 2014, Turkish security in New York threatened and pushed around journalists working for a newspaper unfriendly to Erdogan.

In 2015, during a visit to Brussels, Erdogan’s security guard attacked a Belgian government bodyguard.

In February 2016, Erdogan’s bodyguards assaulted three women who were protesting his speech at the National Institute of Higher Studies in Quito, Uruguay. The Turkish security members also broke the nose of an Ecuadorian Parliament member who was trying to intervene. Erdogan arrogantly justified the attack: “Appropriate responses will always be taken to handle these disrespectful people.” Rosana Alvarado, deputy speaker of Ecuador’s Parliament, responded: “We don’t want to see Erdogan in our country again!”

In March 2016, Erdogan’s security attacked journalists and protesters outside the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., where the Turkish leader was invited to give a speech.

After listing some of the aforementioned attacks, National Review Online columnist Tom Rogan concluded: “As Erdogan centralizes power and attacks his opponents, the TPPD [Turkish Presidential Protection Department] has morphed from law enforcement into suited thuggery.”

It will take a long time for Turkey to recover the flood of negative publicity in hundreds of U.S. newspapers, TV stations, and websites, including a devastating editorial in the Washington Post. Anders Corr writing in Forbes magazine suggested that “next time Turkey comes to town, mobilize the riot police to corral Erdogan’s thuggish security if they get out of hand.” In an editorial, The New York Times aptly described the May 16 attack: “The enduring image of Mr. Erdogan’s visit will not be the pomp at the White House but that of his security guards and other supporters beating up protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.”

Erdogan’s security exhibited their typical criminal behavior in front of the whole world. They behaved in the United States the way they behave routinely in Turkey!

Two Turkish journalists, writing in the independent Al-Monitor website, correctly characterized the recent ugly incidents with Erdogan’s bodyguards: “The Washington visit ended with scenes making a mockery of Turkey’s image,” wrote Fehim Tastekin. Pinar Tremblay added: “Erdogan’s security personnel are notorious for attacking protesters all around the globe, thus presenting a brutal face of Turkey that no anti-Turkey lobby could accomplish in one day.”

US Congressman: Erdogan is a dictator

May 23, 2017 By administrator

erdogan the dictator U.S. Rep. Ted Poe called Turkish leader “a dictator” and slammed the attack his body guards on peaceful protesters in Washington on May 16.

“Madam Speaker, it looks like Turkish President Erdogan has brought his brutal crackdown on human rights to Washington, D.C.,” Poe said during his House floor speech.

“For years, Erdogan has attacked Turkey’s democratic institutions, undermined the rule of law, and violated Turkish civil liberties. On Tuesday, several bullies violently assaulted protesters outside the Turkish Embassy here in Washington. These Gestapo-type body guards beat peaceful demonstrators, in one case kicking a woman lying on the ground. This type of behavior is unacceptable.

Erdogan is becoming a Turkish dictator. One of the traits of a dictator is to violently quash opposition. He is showing he doesn’t believe in the democratic principles of free speech and peaceful assembly. But, Madam Speaker, we will have no foreign tyrant violating these sacred rights on American soil without consequences.

And that is just the way it is.”

Erdogan Blaming US for Brutal Attack in DC, Ankara Summons US Ambassador

May 22, 2017 By administrator

ANKARA —The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the Unites States Ambassador to Turkey John Bass over the bloody and brutal attack on demonstrators last week in Washington that video evidence indicates were ordered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while visiting the US capital.

A statement by the Turkish foreign ministry indicated that verbal and written protests were presented to Bass, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

“The Ambassador of the Unites States of America in Ankara was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today and a written and verbal protest was delivered due to the aggressive and unproffessional [sic] actions taken, contrary to diplomatic rules and practices, by US security personnel towards the close protection team of H.E Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, in front of the Turkish Embassy Chancery in Washington DC during the visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week,” read a written statement by Turkey’s foreign ministry on Monday.

The Foreign Ministry formally requested that the U.S. authorities conduct a “full investigation” into the incident and “provide the necessary explanation.”

Turkey also accused the U.S. of not taking sufficient precautions for the official program of President Erdoğan.

“During the meeting with the Ambassador, it was emphasized that the lapses of security experienced during our President’s stay in Washington, which were caused by the inability of US authorities to take sufficient precautions at every stage of the official program, will not overshadow what in every other aspect was a very successful and important visit,” read the statement.

On May 17, the State Department summoned Turkish Ambassador in Washington Serdar Kılıç over the incident between protesters and Turkish security personnel during Erdoğan’s visit.

The State Department condemned the attack by Turkish security personnel on protesters as an assault on free speech, issuing a statement to express its concern regarding the violence outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.

“Violence is never an appropriate response to free speech, and we support the rights of people everywhere to free expression and peaceful protest,” said the statement, clearly stating that the demonstration in front of Kılıç’s residence was legal, peaceful and protected.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on May 21 denounced the clash in Washington last week involving Turkish security personnel and protesters.

In an interview on Fox News, Tillerson said the State Department had called in the ambassador of Turkey to discuss the incident and say “that this is simply unacceptable.”

There is an ongoing investigation,” he said. “We’ll wait and see what the outcome of that investigation is. But we have expressed our dismay at what occurred at the Turkish Embassy.”

Video analysis: Erdoğan’s bodyguards were given command to attack protestors

May 19, 2017 By administrator

Erdogan terrorize,washington Audiovisual analysis of the incident footage recorded outside the Turkish embassy in Washington on Tuesday showed the Turkish president giving verbal commands to his bodyguards to attack a group of peaceful protesters.

A professional sound editor Salih Ferad Ferad determined that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s bodyguards shouted out the phrases “he says attack” and “come, come, come,” The Daily Caller reports.

In the video of that scene, Erdoğan’s bodyguard gets out of the Mercedes and relays a message to another man who was positioned closer to the protestors. The man then turns and rushes quickly in the direction of the protestors.

The video—recorded by Voice of America Turkish news service—also shows Erdoğan calmly watching the occurrence.

Using noise isolation techniques, Ferad determined that the bodyguard uttered the words “dalın diyor, servet abi dalın diyor” just after Erdoğan was seen speaking with him.

That phrase translates to “he says attack servet abi, he says attack,” another word-for-word translation of the phrase being “he says dive in” or “plunge in.”

Erdogan supporters attack peaceful Armenian protesters in Washington

May 17, 2017 By administrator

A group of peaceful demonstrators protesting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official visit to the United States, were attacked by pro-Erdogan groups at the Sheridan Circle near the residence of the Turkish Ambassador to the U.S, The Armenian Weekly reports.

“[This was] the type of violence you would never expect to see in America’s capital. It was the type of violence you’d expect to see in Erdogan’s Turkey and in other dictatorships,” said Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who captured parts of the attack and streamed the aftermath live on the ANCA’s Facebook page. “This is the very type of intolerance that has come to predominate in Turkey and it has now been exported here,” he added.

The demonstration, which began at Lafayette Square at noon, was organized by a coalition of organizations, including the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the American Hellenic Council. Several different groups, which included representatives from the Armenian, Greek, Kurdish, and Assyrian communities, participated in the protest, while President Erdogan met with U.S. President Donald Trump a the White House.

“This is exactly the type of violence you see in Ankara and they are exporting it here. It’s one thing for the Turkish government to do that to its own citizens—[which is] a terrible thing. It is another thing for us, as Americans, to see that exported to the United States,” Hamparian said.

Erdogan’s security detail reportedly attacked protesters carrying the flag of the Kurdish PYD party outside the ambassador’s residence.

The government of Turkey believes that the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) in Syria are simply the Syrian arm of the PKK, which has waged a deadly insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.

78 US Congress members sign letter urging Trump to press Erdogan on human rights

May 16, 2017 By administrator

Seventy-eight members of U.S. Congress have sent a letter pressing President Trump to prioritize democracy and human rights during Tuesday’s White House meeting with Turkish President Erdogan.

Citing the “continuing erosion of human rights and the dramatic decline of democratic values in Turkey,” a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives is calling on President Trump to “be candid and consistent in our support of democratic values and respect for human rights.” The legislators specifically cited the Erdogan government’s “increased direct threats against political opposition groups and minority communities including ethnic Kurds.”

The bipartisan appeal closed with a request that President Trump “make support for Turkish democracy a priority, both in your meetings with President Erdogan next week and in U.S. policy toward Turkey thereafter.”

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian said they welcome Congressional calls on President Trump to prioritize democracy and human rights in our relationship with the Turkish government of Recep Erdogan.

American Armenians to protest Erdogan’s visit to Washington

May 16, 2017 By administrator

Armenians of America will stage a protest action in front of the White House on May 16 to protest Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington and his meeting with President Donald Trump.

“This is President Trump’s chance to stand up to Erdogan. It’s time to challenge Erdogan’s arm-twisting and – even more importantly – to call out the Turkish government’s covert campaign to hijack U.S. policy through questionable payments to foreign agents, lobbyists, and other influence peddlers,” said Aram Hamparian, Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director.

“He can start putting American principles and priorities first by rejecting Ankara’s gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

The Armenian National Committee of America will be joining with a broad array of human rights, religious freedom, Kurdish, Hellenic and Assyrian groups in front of the White House to call attention to President Erdogan’s repression at home and aggression abroad.

The PCF denounces Erdogan’s attempt to invite himself into the French legislative

May 5, 2017 By administrator

Pierre Laurent writes to the Minister of the Interior

The “Equality Justice Party” (EYP), an informal organization of the AKP in France, wants to present 68 candidates in several legislative districts. For the PCF “we must put an end to it”.

The “Equality Justice Party” (EYP), an informal organization of the AKP in France, wants to present 68 candidates in urban districts. This organization includes among its members Islamists and fascists from the sinister organization of the “Gray Wolves”. It has recently been illustrated by attempts to enter into various institutions, the filing of opponents of the April 2017 referendum, and calls for hatred of imams in the hands of Ankara. The presence of this party in the French electoral landscape risks to stir up nationalism and silence the Turkish and Kurdish democrats of France. The French Communist Party (CPF) urges the Minister of the Interior to investigate without delay to defeat this maneuver against democracy and the French Republic. The interference of the Turkish dictator in the French legislative elections must be firmly condemned by the authorities of our country.

Following the letter from Pierre Laurent, secretary general of the French Communist Party, sent to the Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday: The “Equality Justice Party” (EYP), an informal AKP in France, wants to present 68 candidates in constituencies Urban areas:

Minister,

I was alerted by the candidates we are presenting in Dijon of the existence of candidates presented under the label of the “Equality Justice Party” (PEJ)) in several legislative districts for the June election. After the verification, the Islamic-conservative organization, which is the unofficial representative of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party, intends to present 68 candidates in our country for French-Turkish binational nationals. , According to some sources, 51 constituencies.

It is undoubtedly on the part of President Erdogan and his party the AKP to weigh on the orientations of our international policy, especially vis-à-vis the Turkish regime which is accelerating in the dictatorship.

The same strategy was used in the Netherlands; It must be stopped.

I would be grateful if you would be able to carry out an inquiry as soon as possible into these facts, which raise serious concerns among the Turkish and Kurdish democrats and progressives who have found asylum on our national soil and which should worry all Democrats Of our country.

Yours faithfully, Yours sincerely,

Erdogan says Turkish strikes on KURD PKK in Iraq Sinjar coordinated with Massoud Barzani

April 26, 2017 By administrator

ANKARA,— Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that airstrikes against Kurdish PKK-affiliated militants in Sinjar was coordinated with Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic party KDP leader Massoud Barzani, Reuters reported.

Turkey will not let northern Iraq’s Sinjar region become a base for Kurdish PKK militants and will continue military operations there and in Syrian Kurdistan (northern Syria) “until the last terrorist is eliminated,” Erdogan told Reuters on Tuesday.

“We are obliged to take measures. We must take steps. We shared this with the U.S. and Russia and we are sharing it with Iraq as well,” Erdogan said in an interview in the presidential palace in Ankara.

“It is an operation that Massoud Barzani has been informed about.”

Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq’s Sinjar and in Syrian Kurdistan on Tuesday, in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Erdogan said he regretted the death of several members of the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, also deployed in Sinjar, during the Turkish operation and made clear that Turkey’s action was “absolutely not an operation against the peshmerga”.

Turkish warplanes also bombarded the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northeastern Syria. The spokesman for the YPG said that 20 YPG members had been killed as a result of Turkish airstrikes in the Mount Karacok area of northeastern Syria.

In total Turkish warplanes hit 39 suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in a one-hour aerial bombardment on the mountains of Sinjar and Karacok.

Tensions between the Peshmerga force of the KDP party and the Shingal Protections Units (YBS), an armed group affiliated with the PKK based in the Yazidi region of Shingal (Sinjar), sharply escalated earlier in March when the two sides entered an armed confrontation.

Clashes break out in the district of Sinune in Sinjar on March 3 after Turkey-backed Barzani Roj Peshmerga were deployed to the area that is controlled by the YBS.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 against the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to push for greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority who make up around 22.5 million of the country’s 79-million population. Nearly 40,000 people have been killed in the resulting conflict since then.

A large Kurdish community in Turkey and worldwide openly sympathise with PKK rebels and Abdullah Ocalan, who founded the PKK group in 1974, and has a high symbolic value for most Kurds in Turkey and worldwide according to observers.