Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today delivered remarks on the Senate Floor following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threatened missile strike on Athens, Greece. Menendez called on the United States and the international community to take concrete steps to hold Erdogan to account for his growing ties to Vladimir Putin, and for his pursuit of repressive and anti-democratic norms, human rights abuses, and continued violations of international law.
“As violent as Erdogan’s tenure has been at home, his foreign policy has been absolutely awful .… But one thing is clear—the United States must take the Turkish President’s actions seriously …. We need to hold Erdogan accountable for his behavior when he violates international laws, or challenges democratic norms, or allows his forces to commit human rights abuses. And that’s why I’m calling for free and fair elections in Turkey,” Chairman Menendez said. “But if standing up to human rights abuses makes me an enemy of Erdogan – if calling out Turkey for arming Azerbaijan and enabling the massacre of innocent Armenian civilians makes me an enemy of Erdogan – if demanding Turkey recognize Greek and Cypriot sovereignty makes me an enemy of Erdogan – then it is a badge I will wear with honor.”
“That is why, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will not approve any F-16s for Turkey until he halts his campaign of aggression across the entire region,” Chairman Menendez continued. “To my colleagues here in the Senate, I’ll close by saying—do not be afraid to stand up for American values in the face of Erdogan’s aggression. To the international community—do not hesitate to hold Turkey accountable for violating international law. To the citizens living in the shadow of Erdogan’s Typhoon missiles—do not forget the United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder with you. And to those people in Turkey who still hope for a free, democratic future—do not give up. One day soon, with your bravery, peace and prosperity will return to your homeland.”
Find a copy of Chairman Menendez’s speech as delivered below.
“A few days ago, in front of a town-hall in Northern Turkey, President Erdogan threatened a missile strike on Athens.
‘Greece is afraid of our missile. They say that the Typhoon Missile will hit Athens.’
And then he addressed the Greek people directly and said quote, ‘It will… unless you stay calm.’
This is a NATO member—directly threatening to target Athens, a city of three million civilians.
According to the United Nations—an intentional attack on civilians is a war crime.
And so, Madam President, I come to the Floor today to condemn the recent actions of the Turkish President which are not only disturbing—they are totally unacceptable.
For years Erdogan has pursued repressive, anti-democratic policies at home and abroad.
From criminalizing insults of Turkey and freedom of expression to the suppression of dissent and political opposition figures, Erdogan has jailed and silenced so many pro-democracy and human rights activists that at one point there were more lawyers and journalists in Turkish jails than anywhere else in the world.
His government continues to try and hide the truth about the Armenian Genocide, prosecuting writers and historians.
In 2008 one of the journalists who wrote about the genocide was assassinated on the streets of Istanbul.
As violent as Erdogan’s tenure has been at home, his foreign policy has been absolutely awful.
On the eve of Baku’s War in Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey sold Azerbaijan 77 million dollars of military equipment that was used to attack innocent Armenians.
So it’s no surprise Erdogan met in Tehran this summer with the Russian and Iranian presidents—some of the world’s most brutal dictators.
Just look at the leaders that he collaborates with.
It’s because he shares their worldview. And you can see this clearly in the way he approaches the region.
Five decades after Turkey’s illegal occupation of Cyprus, Erdogan is still stoking divisions on the island.
Last year, he proposed reopening the Cypriot town of Varosha in an attempt to spread Turkish influence. That is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that was condemned by the European Union.
And this September, Erdogan threatened to reinforce the already Turkish 40,000 troops on Cyprus with more land, naval and aerial weapons, ammunition and vehicles.
Clearly Erdogan looks at Putin’s illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine and is taking note.
And that’s what makes President Erdogan’s recent comments about launching missile attacks on Greece so disconcerting.
We’ve seen Erdogan challenge Greek sovereignty repeatedly. This summer he sent fighter jets over the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
So his threats to strike Athens fit a pattern of Turkish claims to what is Greek territory.
He has said Turkish forces may land in Greece ‘suddenly one night.’
He seems to be increasing his illegal, autocratic behavior in the run-up to the elections in Turkey next year.
In November he launched an air, artillery, and drone assault on Kurdish cities in Northern Syria. And suggested ground forces would soon follow.
‘Payback time,’ Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense tweeted, announcing the operation against the Kurds who have long been a target of Erdogan’s wrath.
Attacking the very forces that are essential U.S. partners in combatting ISIS, and in doing so putting at risk U.S. troops in Syria.
He’s been out for revenge at home too.
Just last week, one of Erdogan’s political rivals—the popular mayor of Istanbul—was sentenced to prison for two and a half years.
The charge? Insulting members of the Supreme Electoral Council.
That would be the equivalent of an American being put in jail for two and a half years for insulting some state electoral commission or the Federal Election Commission or any entity as such.
And in case the prison sentence didn’t send a clear enough message, the court also imposed a political ban on the mayor.
Erdogan might be using this aggression and repression as a diversion no doubt from the dire failure of his own economy.
He might be doing it out of spite.
Or he might be doing it because he is a thug.
But one thing is clear—the United States must take the Turkish President’s actions seriously.
Those who just simply say ‘oh, well he’s a lot of bluster’ – they do so at risk. They said ‘Putin was bluster’ and we have a war on the European continent.
We need to hold Erdogan accountable for his behavior when he violates international laws, or challenges democratic norms, or allows his forces to commit human rights abuses.
And that’s why I’m calling for free and fair elections in Turkey.
I’m asking the international community of democracies to condemn Erdogan’s jailing of his political opponent.
I want our allies to use their leverage to try and prevent further incursions into northeastern Syria.
And I’m demanding that Erdogan end all overflights of Greece and pull every last Turkish soldier out of Cyprus.
And I think, given all of this recent behavior, the United States should not be putting F-16 fighter jets in President Erdogan’s hands.
That is why, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will not approve any F-16s for Turkey until he halts his campaign of aggression across the entire region.
I’m sure this won’t make me many friends in Ankara.
And President Erdogan has criticized me personally—calling me an enemy of the state.
But if standing up to human rights abuses makes me an enemy of Erdogan – if calling out Turkey for arming Azerbaijan and enabling the massacre of innocent Armenian civilians makes me an enemy of Erdogan – if demanding Turkey recognize Greek and Cypriot sovereignty makes me an enemy of Erdogan – then it is a badge I will wear with honor.
And so to my colleagues here in the Senate, I’ll close by saying—do not be afraid to stand up for American values in the face of Erdogan’s aggression.
To the international community—do not hesitate to hold Turkey accountable for violating international law.
To the citizens living in the shadow of Erdogan’s Typhoon missiles—do not forget the United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder with you.
And to those people in Turkey who still hope for a free, democratic future—do not give up.
One day soon, with your bravery, peace and prosperity will return to your homeland.
