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The United States has declared it is concerned about Turkey’s commitment to democracy, after recent charges against two critical journalists raised serious concerns over the country’s commitment to democracy and freedom of expression, and urged the Turkish government to ensure that everyone in the country is free to speak.
Washington considers Turkey a robust ally but says it is not going to “shy away” from leveling criticism on its ally’s democracy and rights record.
US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner on Wednesday criticized charges against the Cumhuriyet’s newspaper’s staff. “We’re obviously very troubled by the reports,” Toner told reporters in a daily press briefing.
A new indictment seeks an aggravated life sentence, a life sentence and 30 years of imprisonment for Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül on separate charges. Both journalists have been held in a prison outside İstanbul since last November.
“We said before the extraordinarily harsh criminal charges, pretrial arrest, and now the prosecution’s call for life sentences raise serious concerns about Turkey’s commitment to fundamental principles of freedom of expression, of democracy, of due process, and judicial independence,” Toner said in a forceful statement.
Washington’s unusually strong remarks came on a day when the world’s three leading rights advocates — Freedom House, Human Rights Watch and Transparency International — targeted Turkey for its decline in democracy, gross violation of rights and a poor record on corruption.
The indictment was announced just days after US Vice President Joe Biden, who met with the family of Dündar, departed Turkey. “I would hope there’s no link,” Toner said, characterizing Turkey as a friend, ally and partner.
He called on the Turkish authorities to ensure that all individuals and organizations, including the media, are free to voice a full range of opinions and criticism.
Biden paid a visit to Turkey last week to continue talks on ways to seal the last remaining stretch of the Turkish-Syrian border. Both allies are working together to shut down the 98-kilometer border to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Toner said foreign fighter flow into Syria from that border is a “very complex and very difficult issue” to deal with. He added that the US is working with Turkey to seal and increase the security along its border with Syria.
“We think it’s become harder,” Toner said about Syria-bound foreign fighters, acknowledging that Turkey has strengthened the border, but clearly more work needs to be done.
Turkey has been under fire for allegedly turning a blind eye as ISIL smuggled fighters and goods through Turkish territory. US officials say they had been working very hard to convince Turks that ISIL poses a real threat to Turkey and that it needs to take it seriously.
Toner said the US is “absolutely convinced” that Turkey understands the magnitude of the problem and that it wants to stop the flow of foreign fighters and seal off its Syrian border.
Russia has been particularly pointed in its criticism of Turkey’s business dealings with ISIL, claiming that the Turkish government is involved in a lucrative oil trade with ISIL. On Tuesday an Israeli minister claimed that ISIL benefits from Turkish money for its oil.
Toner said Washington disagrees with that statement and that this alleged trade does not “make economic sense at all.” He said there is no evidence or signs to back up these allegations.
“We, the United States, reject the premise that the Turkish government is somehow in league with ISIL to smuggle oil. We just see no evidence to support that accusation,” Toner stated firmly.
Along with oil, ISIL also smuggles people, goods and war material due to the porous nature of the Turkish-Syrian border. The rest of the border is now controlled by Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militias, a group that Washington calls “friendly forces” and Turkey considers “terrorists.”
As Turkey’s own separate war in a predominantly Kurdish areas escalates, Ankara has taken a hawkish position in dealing with Syrian Kurds. Over the past week Turkey vowed that it would walk out of peace talks in Geneva on Friday if Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD) is invited to join the talks. PYD is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US.
The US State Department spokesman said the UN has not yet announced invitations; however, the PYD will not be participating in this week’s talks. Recalling Turkey’s “very real and almost existential” concerns about Syria, Toner said the initial exclusion of the PYD was a decision taken by the UN’s Syria envoy.
State Department Briefing, www.todayszaman.com