The Turkish government has summoned the U.S. ambassador over a brawl that Turkish bodyguards instigated in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., last week. From USA Today:
In a statement Monday, Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ambassador was summoned and “a written and verbal protest was delivered due to the aggressive and unprofessional actions taken, contrary to diplomatic rules and practices, by U.S. security personnel toward the close protection team of H.E Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.”“It has been formally requested that the U.S. authorities conduct a full investigation of this diplomatic incident and provide the necessary explanation,” the statement said.“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 U.S. 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,” it added.
Yeah, that’s not what happened. People gathered in front of the embassay to protest against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and show support for those he regularly cracks down in Turkey. That’s when the Turkish bodyguards decided to pummel the protesters in broad daylight.
Someone also remind the Turkish government that in America we have the right to peaceful assembly and protest. Also, if Erdogan didn’t act like a dictator he wouldn’t face protests.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) wants the Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic thrown out of the country and blasted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for not taking quick action.
But Tillerson said the department needs to conclude an investigation before it decides to expel Kilic. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Tom Shannon met with Kilic last Wednesday “to discuss the attack.”
Erdogan and his thugs insist the protesters have connections to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the US has listed as a terrorist group. Turkey and the PKK have been in a three-decade war with no end in sight. Some at the protest denied the connections:
But Mehmet Yuksel, who arrived immediately after the incident and knows almost all of the little over a dozen demonstrators, said they weren’t connected with that group. The victims included Americans, he said, and there was no justification for the attack.Yuksel said one demonstrator seen in video of the attack carrying a bullhorn and being repeatedly kicked is in his 60s. The man suffered loose and broken teeth and had to return Friday to a hospital, he said.Ceren Borazan, seen on video in a headlock, said in a Facebook post that the attack “popped a blood vessel in my eye.”
But Erdogan hates all Kurds, not just the PKK. He made it well known he does not appreciate Trump’s idea to arm the Kurds in order to combat ISIS:
“It is absolutely unacceptable to take the YPG-PYD into consideration as partners in the region, and it’s going against a global agreement we reached,” Erdoğan said, referring to the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.“In the same way, we should never allow those groups who want to change the ethnic or religious structures in the region to use terrorism as a pretext,” he added, suggesting that the Kurds were using the anti-Isis fight as cover for separatist nationalism.
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