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STEPANAKERT. – A delegation, led by Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR) President Bako Sahakyan, on Monday arrived in Washington, D.C., on a working visit.
Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned the aforesaid from the Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh Republic President.
To note, a relevant article by former US ambassador to Armenia John Evans was published in The National Interest magazine.
Senate Democrats and Republicans have failed to reach a compromise on a short-term funding measure. The partial shutdown comes on the first anniversary of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The US government shut down on Saturday after the Senate failed to pass a procedural vote on a stopgap budget to fund the government.
Most Democrats and some Republicans voted against ending debate and advancing to a vote on a short-term bill to fund the government for the next month in a late-night vote on a House-passed plan.
The failure of the motion means that President Donald Trump will mark exactly one year since taking office with the first shuttered government in five years.
The Republicans, who control the White House and both chambers of Congress, looked set to bear the brunt of responsibility for the shutdown even as they sought to pin blame on Democratic obstructionism.
The vote failed 49 to 50. Sixty votes were needed to proceed to a vote on the House bill.
Republicans were asking for a four-week stopgap funding measure to keep the government running.
Democrats, who are seeking to capitalize on any Republican failings during a mid-term election year, may also be faulted after they wouldn’t budge on demands to protect from deportation some 700,000 “Dreamers” who came to the country illegally as children. They sought an even shorter funding measure in order to maintain pressure over immigration issues.
Following the vote, Trump blamed the Democrats for the shutdown, saying they were more interested in protecting illegal immigrants than in national security.
The White House said it would not negotiate with the Democrats on immigration until the shutdown ended.
“The president will not negotiate on immigration reform until Democrats stop playing games and reopen the government,” Sarah Sanders said on Saturday.
Likely minimal impact
A Washington Post-ABC poll conducted before Friday’s 11th-hour vote found that 48 percent of respondents faulted Trump and Republicans, compared to 28 percent who blamed Democrats.
“As for who gets the blame, people have tended to blame Congress over the president, but given that Republicans control both, it’s likely that they will get almost all of the blame,” Phil Klinkner, a professor of government at Hamilton College, told DW. “As for long-term effects, there probably won’t be much other than reinforcing the notion that Trump and congressional Republicans are pretty ineffective.”
It was unclear for how long the federal government would shut down. The last shutdown in 2013 lasted 16 days.
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told reporters before the failed vote that “there’s a really good chance it gets fixed” before government offices open again on Monday.
A short-term government shutdown will likely have minimal impact, especially if only over a weekend.
US federal services and any military operations that are considered essential will go on, but thousands of government workers are set to be furloughed if no deal is reached before Monday.
tj,cw/jlw (AFP, AP, dpa)
WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) shared its 2018 Armenian American policy priorities in an in-depth video presentation featuring “asks” of the U.S. government regarding a secure Artsakh Republic, a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide, and stronger U.S.-Armenia economic, political and military ties.
In a 50-minute presentation broadcast live on the ANCA’s Facebook page and now available on a broad array of social media platforms, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian opened with a call-to-action urging friends of Armenia to send letters to their U.S. legislators by visiting anca.org/2018, and then walked viewers through each aspect of the Armenian American advocacy agenda.
“Coming off a political transition year, and heading into a hotly contested election season, we are well positioned to make progress in each of our priority policy areas,” said Hamparian. “Our team in Washington, our regional offices, local chapters, grassroots advocates, and coalition partners look forward to engaging with elected officials—at every level of government—to advance our shared concerns and realize our common aspirations for Artsakh and Armenia. A great way to start is by asking friends, relatives, and colleagues to visit www.anca.org/1918 and take action today.”
Included in the 2018 ANCA policy “asks” are:
Artsakh | Peace | Security | Aid
The key to reaching a durable and democratic settlement regarding the status and security of Artsakh—a longstanding U.S. foreign policy priority—is strengthening the 1994 cease-fire. The government and citizens of Artsakh are committed to strengthening their partnership with the U.S. government and deepening their ties to the American people.
ANCA Asks:
a) The Administration should renew U.S. pressure upon Azerbaijan to stop obstructing the implementation of the Royce-Engel peace proposals for Artsakh, life-saving, common sense cease-fire strengthening measures that have been endorsed by the State Department, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Armenia and Artsakh:
b) The U.S. should suspend military aid to Baku and strengthen Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.
c) The President should request and the Congress should appropriate at least $8 million in aid to Artsakh, focusing on:
d) The Administration and Congress should eliminate outdated and obsolete barriers to travel, contacts, and communication between U.S. and Artsakh government officials, political leaders, and other civil society stakeholders.
e) The U.S. government should publicly mark the 30th anniversary of the Artsakh liberation movement and the anti-Armenian massacres in Azerbaijan. These historic developments helped spark a democratic wave that helped bring down the Soviet Empire.
Armenian Genocide | Justice
The U.S. cannot credibly speak out against present day atrocities—including those against religious minorities across the Middle East—while remaining silent on Turkey’s genocide of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, and other Christians.
The U.S. government should override Turkey’s veto over honest American remembrance of the Armenian Genocide and stop outsourcing U.S. genocide policy to foreign regimes.
ANCA Asks:
a) President Trump—who ran on a platform of rejecting foreign influence over the U.S. government—should, in his April 24 statement, announce that America will no longer enforce Turkey’s gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
b) The U.S. Congress—which is led by leaders, in both houses and from both parties, who have records of supporting proper Armenian Genocide remembrance—should pass bipartisan resolutions regarding the Armenian Genocide:
c) Members of the U.S. Senate and House are invited to participate this April in the annual Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide commemoration, a solemn remembrance that pays tribute to the millions of Christian victims of this atrocity.
d) Congressional intelligence panels should launch investigations into Turkey’s manipulation of American policy. These investigations should look into Ankara’s campaign to obstruct justice for the Armenian Genocide, with a special focus on the potential collusion of U.S officials.
Erdogan | Justice | Extradition
The Turkish government remains entirely unapologetic and arrogantly unrepentant regarding the May 16, 2017 attacks by President Erdogan’s bodyguards on peaceful American protesters outside the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC.
ANCA Ask:
The Administration should formally request that Turkey extradite members of Turkish President Erdogan’s security detail who have been criminally charged with attacking peaceful American protesters.
U.S. – Armenia | Partnership
The 100th anniversary the first Republic of Armenia marks a major milestone in the U.S.-Armenia partnership, an alliance characterized by the steady expansion of bilateral ties and continued cooperation on a broad array of multilateral, regional and international challenges. Armenia participates in NATO’s Partnership for Peace and has provided troops for U.S led peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, and Mali.
U.S. can play a vital role in helping Armenia complete its aid-to-trade transition, moving toward a bilateral relationship defined by mutually-beneficial commercial ties, strong cultural and political connections, and broad-based cooperation on international security concerns.
ANCA Asks:
a) The Administration should take up Armenia’s calls for a new Tax Treaty to eliminate the threat of double taxation, a major but unnecessary barrier to the growth of bilateral trade and investment.
b) The Administration and Congress should take administrative and regulatory actions needed to support the launch of commercially-viable non-stop Los Angeles to Yerevan passenger and cargo flights.
c) The President should request and the Congress should appropriate at least $40 million in FY19 assistance for Armenia, with a focus on expanding the U.S.-Armenia economic ties and expanding military relations (NATO interoperability and participation in peacekeeping).
d) The President should request and the Congress should appropriate at least $40 million in FY19 to support Armenia’s commendable efforts to serve as a regional safe-haven for at-risk Middle East refugees.
e) The Millennium Challenge Corporation should approve a new compact with Armenia to support Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education in Armenia’s public schools.
f) Members of the U.S. House should co-sign the annual Armenian Caucus letter to the leadership of the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee, covering the full range of U.S. foreign aid priorities related to Armenia and Artsakh.
Regional Security | Turkey | Azerbaijan
The President and Congress need to keep U.S. arms and technology out of the hands of foreign regimes that will use them for offensive purposes, including, potentially, against the United States and our allies.
ANCA Asks:
a) The Administration should place a freeze on all proposed arms sales to Turkey, ranging from firearms to Turkish President Erdogan’s security detail all the way up to F-35s for the Turkish military.
b) The Administration should—in the interest of regional security, nuclear safety, and non-proliferation—seriously reevaluate the stationing of U.S. nuclear arms at Turkey’s Incirlik airbase.
c) The Administration should oppose any direct sale of U.S. offensive or dual-use defense articles to Azerbaijan, and block any third-party licenses for the transfer of advanced U.S. weapons, parts and technology to Baku, including for the Iron Dome system.
A total of 19 people, including 15 identified as bodyguards of Turkish president, were indicted Tuesday in Washington in connection with scuffles that broke out outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.
“19 people, including 15 Turkish security officials, indicted for attacking protesters during Erdogan visit to DC in May,” Associated Press tweeted.
As reported earlier, bodyguards of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attacked peaceful protesters in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in the US capital city on May 16.
A Russian surveillance aircraft has made a low altitude flight over the Pentagon, the Capitol and other US government buildings in Washington.
The Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 made its flight on Wednesday as part of the Treaty on Open Skies, which allows military aircraft from the US, Russia and 32 other nations to engage in aerial observation flights on each others’ territories, in a move which is aimed at promoting transparency.
The Capitol Police issued an alert prior to the flight noting that an “authorized low-altitude aircraft” would be passing over without announcing its origins.
“The aircraft will be large and may fly directly over the US Capitol,” it said, adding, “This flight will be monitored by US Capitol Police and other federal government agencies.”
The recent flight is scheduled to be followed by another one over US President Donald Trump’s property in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he is currently vacationing.
According to a law enforcement source, US Air Force personnel were on board the Russian plane, which has the capability of engaging in various intelligence-gathering operations.
According to the US State Department, the treaty “is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants, regardless of size, a direct role in gathering information through aerial imaging on military forces and activities of concern to them.”
WASHINGTON,— U.S. congress is threatening to cut funding for Iraq’s vaunted Kurdish peshmerga fighters if the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ends up splitting with Baghdad.
The House Armed Services Committee released a draft annual defense bill this week that makes continued funding for the KRG “contingent” upon Erbil’s “participation in the government of a unified Iraq.” This summary language is not legally binding but signals congressional intent to the Donald Trump administration.
“The committee notes that funding provided to the [KRG] is to enhance Government of Iraq-KRG cooperation and support a unified effort to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),” the draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reads. “Such funding should be contingent upon KRG participation in the government of a unified Iraq and on their continued good faith cooperation in the anti-ISIL campaign.”
At risk are hundreds of millions of dollars in annual US support for the peshmerga, who have gone without regular paychecks in the midst of the campaign against the Islamic State (IS) as Erbil struggled with a budget shortfall. Congress responded last year by allocating $480 million “in stipends and sustainment” to the peshmerga for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
The new congressional language comes as Erbil is gearing up for a long-awaited independence referendum in September.
The KRG representation office in Washington made it clear it took issue with the language, calling it “inartful” and pointing out that the language is nonbinding and may not survive reconciliation with the Senate version of the bill.
“It is the democratic right of the people of Kurdistan to hold a referendum on their future,” an official with the KRG office told Al-Monitor, “and no one that we have met in Congress has denied this fact.”
The KRG office in Washington also emphasized its cooperation with Congress in the campaign to counter IS.
“Members of the US Congress and, in particular, members of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees in both houses, have consistently recognized the essential role of the peshmerga in the fight against [IS] and the generosity of the people of Kurdistan in hosting up to 1.8 million displaced Iraqi and Syrian refugees,” the delegation said in a statement to Al-Monitor.
Still, the language is more bad news for the Kurds’ independence bid, said Bilal Wahab, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“The KRG wasn’t expecting US support, but they would be happy if the US would not oppose,” Wahab told Al-Monitor. ”And this language is therefore bad news. It has the hallmarks of opposition.”
Wahab noted that the Trump administration appears to be on the same page as Congress with regard to the referendum. The State Department signaled its opposition in a June 8 statement from spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
“We have expressed our concerns to authorities in the Kurdistan Region that holding a referendum — even this nonbinding resolution — at this time will distract from more urgent priorities: the defeat of ISIS, stabilization and the return of the displaced, managing the [Kurdistan] Region’s economic crisis, and resolving the [Kurdistan] Region’s internal political disputes,” Nauert said at the time.
Even if the language remains in the final bill, Wahab believes that the Trump administration still has some latitude in how it provides Iraq and the KRG with military assistance for the campaign to counter IS. “It’s up to the executive branch … whether they actually cut funding or not,” he said.
Kirk Sowell, the head of the political intelligence firm Utica Risk Services, predicted that the referendum, should it go forward, will not affect relations with the United States.
“The referendum will have no impact at all, at least in terms of US policy,” Sowell told Al-Monitor. “It is not even certain to happen, but assuming it does, nothing will change afterward. The question is framed like an opinion poll, and there is no legal or institutional structure to turn a ‘yes’ vote into something real. The status quo will continue.”
Kurdish opposition parties have also criticized the referendum on the grounds that it’s nonbinding. But Massoud Barzani insisted today that it was binding in a Washington Post op-ed while persisting in his calls to move forward.
“When the Islamic State attacked Kurdistan in 2014 — using advanced US weapons abandoned by the Iraqi army in Mosul — the Iraqi government refused to give Kurdistan its constitutionally mandated share of the federal budget or to provide our soldiers … with weapons,” Barzani wrote in the op-ed. “As an independent country, we could have financed and equipped our own troops and brought this fight to a swifter conclusion.”
A poster displayed at a news conference shows four members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail who have been criminally charged following a May incident in Washington, DC, in which they allegedly attacked protesters during Erdogan’s visit. Image uploaded June 15, 2017. (photo by Twitter/@DionNissenbaum)
By Pinar Tremblay,
Will Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ever be welcome in Washington again? Many US legislators would like to think he wouldn’t dare come back after the horrid events of May 16, when his security detail attacked peaceful protesters.
Just days later, a bipartisan House resolution was introduced to condemn Turkey and ask for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. Dana Rohrabacher, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Europe, said Erdogan “is an enemy of everything we stand for. … More importantly, he is an enemy of his own people.” These are some of the strongest words of public criticism Erdogan has received from an American lawmaker. In early June, the measure asking that those involved in the Washington mayhem be brought to justice was accepted by a 397-0 vote.
Two powerful members of the Senate also voiced sharp bipartisan criticism of the incident. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and John McCain, R-Ariz., in a May 18 letter told Erdogan that his staff had blatantly violated American freedoms and that the “affront … reflects poorly on your government.” McCain chairs the Armed Services Committee, and Feinstein is the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
On June 15, Washington law enforcement officials announced criminal charges had been filed and arrest warrants issued for 12 members of the detail. Though the guards had already returned to Turkey and it’s unlikely they will ever stand trial, media coverage of their photographs with the word “Wanted” at the top sent shock waves to Turks. Most Turkish media outlets were not quite sure whether to publish the news or ignore it.
Erdogan promptly lashed out at the US justice system, asking, “What kind of law is this?” He claimed the protesters were terrorists — members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement — and were demonstrating only about 50 yards from him, yet the US police did not act. Erdogan said, “If these bodyguards would not protect me, why am I taking them with me to the US?”
Erdogan sees any protest as a direct attack on himself, hence his justification of his bodyguards’ physical assaults on peaceful protesters. Anyone in any location who dares protest against Erdogan is seen as an imminent threat — a terrorist who needs to be eliminated.
Yet Erdogan’s fluency in anger didn’t pack much of a punch in this case. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shared a clear and strong message backing up the bipartisan House resolution and the actions of Washington law enforcement agencies. Although the United States has not expelled the Turkish ambassador and is well aware that the 12 bodyguards won’t be extradited, its strong message has been sent and received.
On June 16, a rather mellow and patient Erdogan gave an interview to a Portuguese TV channel in which he said Turkey is ready to do whatever it takes to be accepted into the European Union. He clearly and repeatedly stated that the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda are terror organizations. So what led to this calmer and compromising Erdogan? It seems the Gulf crisis, in which many countries cut ties June 5 with Turkish ally Qatar, has been quite effective in curbing Erdogan’s anger and serving as a wake-up call for different groups in Turkey. Could the same thing happen to Ankara?
For decades, members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) along with affluent businessmen operated under the assumption that Turkey is deeply integrated into the West and there is too much money invested to isolate the country.
Al-Monitor has interviewed business elites in the past two years about Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war. The majority were confident that as a NATO member, Turkey need not worry that it might be accused of being a state sponsor of terror. However, since the Qatari crisis began, concern has risen. The thunderbolt sanctions imposed on Qatar for allegedly supporting terrorist networks — which it denies — was a shock for Turks. One businessman told Al-Monitor, “For the first time, I realized that what can be done to Qatar in a day would destroy my family’s businesses overnight” if it happened in Turkey. “I need to secure my assets before it is too late.”
Indeed, Turkey has been associated with Qatar for a while. For example, in 2014, the US Congress held hearings into Hamas’ benefactors in which Qatar and Turkey were named as the group’s two main financiers.
Over the years, Turkish involvement with questionable armed groups in Syria has also been raised by different sources. Several firsthand testimonies blamed Erdogan directly for aiding terrorist entities in Syria and even providing weapons to unvetted groups. Jailed Al-Monitor columnist Kadri Gursel, for example, wrote about these charges multiple times. Now there is a lawmaker, Enis Berberoglu, in jail for publicizing the scandal involving the National Intelligence Organization transporting weapons to Syria.
Also, Turkey’s government has been criticized for punishing left-leaning and peaceful Islamist groups more brutally than those with open links to IS and other armed terror networks.
The Saudi-led coalition’s strong reaction against Qatar grabbed the attention of Erdogan and the secular business elite in Turkey. The fear that Turkey could be the next to come under fire has been voiced not only in Turkish media but also in The Wall Street Journal, which explains Erdogan’s personal stake in the issue.
The anxiety indeed runs deeper than so far acknowledged, and it connects to whether the United States will officially declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization. Some senior AKP bureaucrats known for their history of open and friendly relations with all Muslim Brotherhood chapters now respond angrily to any implication that the AKP is associated with the Brotherhood. Two tweets from a pro-Erdogan journalist who mostly writes for English-speaking audiences provide an example. In one tweet is a picture of Erdogan raising four fingers, a symbol of the Brotherhood and its support of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. In the other tweet is the journalist’s desperate claim that the AKP’s organic connection to the Brotherhood is just a myth. Given the rising international pressure, we can expect to see pro-Erdogan media struggling to distance themselves from the Brotherhood.
One prominent Islamist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al-Monitor, “We do not forget how Erdogan disowned the [victims of the] Mavi Marmara [the flotilla to break the Gaza embargo in 2010] and turned against them in 2016. Most Islamists in Turkey never even consider armed struggle against the state, so it is easy to discard us when the going gets tough. However, now Erdogan is dealing with different groups. Some of these groups have become militaristic due to their involvement in Syria. Can they be disowned as easily?”
US President Donald Trump initially supported the Saudi-led coalition’s actions against Qatar, and he immediately became the target of outsized Turkish anger, with Erdogan bashing him to express support for Qatar while trying to avoid offending Saudi Arabia. Trump quickly backed off his statements for unrelated reasons, however, and the United States even agreed June 14 to sell F-15 jets to Qatar. Now, with Qatari officials making statements to the international press about the United States, such as “Our militaries are like brothers,” it is understandable that Erdogan would quiet his criticism of the United States and initiate a campaign to distance himself from the Muslim Brotherhood.
Indeed, Turkey was left standing alone and now realizes that the cost of all future angry outbursts will be higher both domestically and internationally. Erdogan’s next trip to the United States, whenever or if ever that might be, could be most interesting to watch after all.
Tremblay is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse and a visiting scholar of political science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is a columnist for Turkish news outlet T24. Her articles have appeared in Time, New
Armenia introduced its products at the recent wine festival in Washington D.C., and which was organized by the Smithsonian Associates educational foundation, reported Voice of America Armenian Service.
As the cradle of wine, Armenia—along with Georgia, Palestine, Israel, and Turkey—was represented at the festival, said Diaspora Armenian winemaker Vahe Keushguerian. He added that Armenian winemaking is being reborn, over the course of the past five to six years.
Armenian wines enjoy a great interest in the United States. As per Keushguerian, however, the US wine market will be favorable for Armenians in one or two years, since Americans love new wines and new flavors.
In his words, there is great progress also in the quality of Armenian wines.
29 U.S. Representatives Press Secretary Tillerson to Take Decisive Action against Ankara
WASHINGTON—Congressional uproar over the May 16th brutal beating of peaceful American protesters in Washington, DC by Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s security forces pushed into a second week, with top U.S. Senate appropriators – Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) – threatening to cut US assistance to Ankara if the matter is not given “the highest attention and consideration it deserves by the Government of Turkey,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
In a May 18th letter to Turkey’s Ambassador, Serdar Kilic, Senators Graham and Leahy stressed: “We would like to remind you that peaceful assembly and freedom of speech are fundamental rights in this country. The aggressiveness and brutality demonstrated by the Turkish security personnel are interpreted by many of us as much more than an attack against peaceful demonstrators – it is an attack against these very rights.” The text of this Senate letter is provided below.
Across the U.S. Capitol, 29 U.S. Representatives, led by Congressional Hellenic Caucus Co-Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), called on the State Department to take swift action and hold perpetrators accountable. “This kind of behavior by a foreign security detail is reprehensible and cannot be tolerated. These actions are not only criminal, they are affronts to U.S. values,” House leaders told Secretary of State Tillerson in their May 19th letter. “Freedom of speech and freedom to protest may be prohibited in Turkey and offensive to the Turkish President, but they are bedrock U.S. principles that must be safeguarded.” The full text of the U.S. House letter is provided below.
Congressional co-signers joining Rep. Carolyn Maloney include Representatives: Don Beyer (D-VA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Robert Brady (D-PA), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), David Cicilline (D-RI), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Bill Foster (D-IL), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Daniel Kildee (D-MI), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), James McGovern (D-MA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Bobby Rush (D-IL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and John Yarmuth (D-KY).
These legislators join a broad range of Senate and House leaders who spoke out last week condemning President Erdogan for the attack, including Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) who called for Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic to be sent back to Ankara. Congressman Don Beyer, who has previously served in the U.S. foreign service as Ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein, also called for Amb. Kilic’s ouster and signed on to this Congressional letter as well.
“We would like to thank Senators Graham and Leahy, Representative Maloney and her 28 colleagues, and all the Members of Congress who continue to press for concrete consequences to President Erdogan’s brutal attack on peaceful protesters in our nation’s capital,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “These Congressional protests need to be followed by serious policy-level actions – starting with the Administration’s immediate expulsion of Ambassador Kilic, a Congressional suspension on all aid to Turkey, and Ankara’s blanket waiver of immunity for any and all involved in this unprovoked assault.”
The ANCA has issued a call for concerned advocates to reach out to President Trump, Secretary Tillerson, and Senate and House legislators demanding the immediate expulsion of the Turkish ambassador.
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian was videotaping live at the scene of the May 16th attack, which took place in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence where President Erdogan was scheduled to have a closed-door meeting with representatives of The Atlantic Council, a leading think tank in Washington, DC which receives funding from Turkey. Hamparian’s video showed pro-Erdogan forces crossing a police line and beating peaceful protesters – elderly men and several women – who were on the ground bleeding during most of the attack.
Voice of America Turkish division, in their video coverage shot from the vantage point of the Turkish Ambassador’s house, reported that the attackers belonged to President Erdogan’s security detail and were responsible for escalating the violence.
“The fights flared up after President Erdogan’s arrival at the Embassy residence,” reported Voice of America. “After the first bout of fights died down, Erdogan’s special security forces joined the second stage of fights. Fisticuffs and kicks ensued. The Washington Police Forces had great difficulty in preventing the fights. They had to use batons against Erdogan’s security forces.”
Additional VOA Turkish video has surfaced showing President Erdogan ordering his security detail to attack the protesters, then watching calmly as the beatings were carried out. Audio analysis carried out by the Daily Caller shows Erdogan’s bodyguards yelling “gel gel gel” — “come, come, come” — and “dalın diyor dalın diyor dalın diyor,” – “he says attack, he says attack, he says attack.”
The Washington Post has done a second-by-second analysis of the VOA Turkish videos and identified the Erdogan’s order of the attack.
The U.S. State Department called the Turkish Ambassador in for a discussion last week regarding the incident, officially expressing their dismay, calling the actions of President Erdogan’s bodyguards “unacceptable.” President Trump has yet to comment on the matter.
In a highly incendiary move, on Monday, May 22nd, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry called in the U.S. Ambassador John Bass for a diplomatic discussion, accusing U.S. police and security personnel of “aggressive and unprofessional actions.”
Since reporting on the attacks by President Erdogan’s security forces, the ANCA has received threatening phone calls and messages on social media. These intimidation tactics have been reported to the Metropolitan Police and other authorities, and are now under investigation.
The protest in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence was a continuation of a demonstration held earlier in the day in front of the White House, co-hosted by the ANCA. As President Trump met with President Erdogan. human rights and religious rights groups were joined by representatives of the Kurdish, Yezidi and Armenian communities to call attention to the Erdogan regime’s escalating repression against a free press, the Kurdish and other ethnic communities, as well as Turkey’s ongoing obstruction of justice for the Armenian Genocide.
Senate Foreign Appropriators Letter to Turkey Ambassador Kilic
Dear Mr. Ambassador,
We write to you to express our profound dismay at the reported attack by Turkish security personnel against peaceful protestors outside your residence during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit to Washington, DC.
We would like to remind you that peaceful assembly and freedom of speech are fundamental rights in this country. The aggressiveness and brutality demonstrated by the Turkish security personnel are interpreted by many of us as much more than an attack against peaceful demonstrators – it is an attack against these very rights. This incident is nothing short of an embarrassment for the Government of Turkey, and an unnecessary and self-inflicted strain on our bilateral relations.
We encourage local law enforcement personnel to prosecute perpetrators of this attack to the fullest extent of the law and support the expulsion from the United States of any diplomatic personnel involved.
We also ask that you meet with the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss this matter further, including potential implications for assistance for Turkey, should this matter be given less than the highest attention and consideration it deserves by the Government of Turkey.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Congressional Letter to Secretary Tillerson Condemning Erdogan’s Security Forces Attack on American Protesters
Dear Secretary Tillerson:
On May 16, members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail were caught on video brutally attacking protesters outside the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC and deliberately disregarding police orders to halt their assaults. The video is incredibly disturbing. We urge you to immediately condemn this outrageous attack in the strongest terms possible and use all tools at your disposal so that these men are denied diplomatic immunity and prosecuted to the fullest extent of U.S. law.
Based on the video of the incident, these Turkish security guards should be arrested, prosecuted and jailed. Numerous members of President Erdogan’s security detail kicked, punched, and trampled people holding posters who were standing in a park that is clearly not part of the embassy. These Turkish security guards kicked men and women crouched on the ground and disregarded numerous commands by police to cease and desist. According to news reports, nine people were hurt, including two who were seriously injured and taken to the hospital. The bloodied faces on the video are shocking.
This kind of behavior by a foreign security detail is reprehensible and cannot be tolerated. These actions are not only criminal, they are affronts to U.S. values. Freedom of speech and freedom to protest may be prohibited in Turkey and offensive to the Turkish President, but they are bedrock U.S. principles that must be safeguarded.
Although the State Department’s spokesperson has issued a statement on this matter, more must be done. It is incumbent upon you, as the top diplomat of the United States, to speak out publicly against these actions and, just as importantly, ensure that these men are held fully accountable for their actions.
By