Turkey Blames The US For Being Aggressive Against President Erdogan's Body Guards When They Attacked Demonstrators Protesting Outside The Turkish Embassy

Washington Post: Turkey condemns U.S. over ‘aggressive’ acts against its bodyguards during Erdogan’s visit to D.C.

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Foreign Ministry lodged a formal protest Monday with the U.S. ambassador over “aggressive” actions by American security personnel during violence between Turkish guards and protesters as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Washington earlier this month.

The summoning of the ambassador to Ankara, John Bass, sharply escalated a diplomatic rift between Turkey and the United States after the violence. Footage of the brawl that was widely circulated on social media prompted outrage in the United States, calls for the prosecution of the Turkish guards and even the expulsion of Turkey’s ambassador to Washington.

American and Turkish officials have provided directly contrasting versions of how the violence unfolded. Local police said the Turkish guards savagely attacked a peaceful protest outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence as Erdogan was visiting. The footage of the melee showed what appeared to be Turkish security guards kicking and choking protesters as police struggled to contain the unrest. It also showed Erdogan watching, from a distance, as the fighting raged.

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WNU Editor: The New York Times has the best video on what happened (the link is here). What's my take .... as I explained in this post .... New Video Emerges Showing Turkish President Erdogan Observing Clashes in DC (May 19, 2017) .... it started when President Erdogan talked to his bodyguard and within 20 seconds his security detail began attacking the demonstrators. Diplomatically speaking .... there has to be consequences for this. Expelling Turkish officials that were present when this happened .... and curtailing Turkish diplomatic activity is a must. Will the U.S. State Department do anything about this .... they should but I suspect that they will not.

Turkey Blames The US For Being Aggressive Against President Erdogan's Body Guards When They Attacked Demonstrators Protesting Outside The Turkish Embassy

Turkey Chides U.S. Envoy Over Handling of Brawl at Washington Protest -- NYT
Turkey accuses US of 'aggressive actions' over embassy brawl -- BBC
Turkey condemns U.S. over ‘aggressive’ acts against its bodyguards during Erdogan’s visit to D.C. -- Washington post
Turkey Angry at US For Stopping Erdogan's Goons From Beating Up DC Protesters -- Foreign Policy
The violence of Erdoğan’s bodyguards in Washington DC is Turkey's new normal -- Ahmet A Sabancı, The Guardian