Letter: Turkey's Brutality against Innocent Americans in D.C.

Letter to the Editor on Turkey’s Brutality Against Innocent Americans in Washington, DC

Posted on June. 2. 2017 in USA Armenian Life magazine

May 23, 2017

Dear Editor:

During Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Washington, DC on May 16, his official entourage — on his explicit order — violently attacked a group that was demonstrating against ongoing Turkish human rights violations. The group included Armenian Americans.

This rapidly became national and international news. It has drawn widespread condemnation from media and elected officials, including Senators Cardin (D-MD), Cotton (R-AR), Cruz (R-TX), Feinstein (D-CA), Lee (R-UT), McCain (R-AZ), Reed (D-RI), Rubio (R-FL), Sasse (R-NE), Schumer (D-NY), and Whitehouse (D-RI) and some members of the House of Representatives.

Almost immediately I phoned and emailed the Washington offices of my U.S. Senators, Edward Markey (D-MA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and my Congresswoman, Katherine Clark (D-MA). I asked them to publicly rebuke Erdogan and his entourage’s illegal actions.

It is now one week later. Neither Markey, Warren, nor Clark has issued any personal statement about the attack. I have looked at their official websites and Facebook and Twitter pages. Earlier today I phoned their offices again to recheck. Neither Senator had issued a statement.

Clark’s office said it did not know. Only on my own did I discover that Clark has now belatedly signed a joint statement with some other Members of Congress criticizing the Turkish attack.

Even their well-known dislike of President Trump has apparently not motivated any of the three to specifically criticize his scandalous silence over the attack.

My personal opinion is that my representatives in Congress are more concerned with the rights of, to cite one example, illegal aliens than the Constitutional rights of American demonstrators.

Sincerely,

David Boyajian

Belmont, MA