21st Century Wire says…
NATO’s ugly stepchild, Turkey, has been having trouble of late.
After shooting down a Russian jet back in November and then lying about it after-the-fact, Turkey was then exposed for its seedy role in facilitating the flow of oil stolen by ISIS from Syria, and then sent into Turkey.
In addition to shifting ISIS oil, it was then revealed how weapons and terrorists have been moving freely into Northern Syria from Turkey – with the full knowledge of the Turkish security services. The Turkish MP who broke this story was then charged with treason by the Erdogan government.
If that wasn’t enough, Turkey then began a campaign of state oppression by targeting journalists and newspapers who were critical of leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political machine (still clinging to power in Ankara). The embattled authoritarian regime then took its act on the road, to a city which always welcomes its dictators with open arms… Washington DC.
Unfortunately, Erdogan’s henchmen thought they were still in Ankara when they attacked journalists and protesters yesterday in the nation’s capital. Erdogan’s thugs forgot they were in the US, where some press and citizens still have rights.
As expected, total silence on the incident by President Obama and his US State Department. Silence is consent. Of course, if this happened at a Donald Trump event, we would never hear the end of it from the media and the Obama administration – but because it’s by a NATO member (and an actual fascist government), well then, that’s perfectly acceptable for mandarins in Washington.
Clearly, Turkey’s media crackdown knows no borders…
The security detail for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clashed with opposing activists for the second day in a row in Washington, DC, removing journalists and even confronting city police after law enforcement refused to remove protesters from the area.
With Erdogan set to give a speech at the Brookings Institute on Thursday, a group of protesters opposing his crackdown on free speech in Turkey, his government’s treatment of the country’s Kurdish population, and what they say is his tolerance of Islamic State, gathered near the DC-based think tank to express their opposition.
Protesters chanting" #Erdogan is commander in chief of ISIS" outside the Brookings where he is speaking soon pic.twitter.com/EE1akSSHeO
— Paulina Leonovich (@Polly_evro) March 31, 2016
The scene quickly devolved into chaos as demonstrators tried to get closer to Brookings, with journalists tweeting that Erdogan’s security scuffled with protesters.
Erdogan’s security detail became physical with reporters, removing one journalist from Brookings, kicking another, and throwing a female reporter to the sidewalk, according to Foreign Policy magazine.
Journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan has been kicked out of #Brookings building by Erdogan's men. They are pressuring Brookings to take me out, too
— Ali H. Aslan (@aliHaslan) March 31, 2016
READ MORE TURKEY NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Turkey Files
