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Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Thank you, Chair Levitt, Vice-Chairs Sweet and Hardcastle, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights. On behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, I thank you for the opportunity to discuss with you today the human rights situation i
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee For my part, last November I did testify at the U.S. Senate at an event organized by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, in a very similar manner—to raise the plight of Turkey's religious minorities, especially the case of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson.
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Especially since the aborted coup and then the state of emergency, we are seeing that Turkish President Erdogan is basing his legitimacy on both nationalism and radical Islam. When these two ideologies come together they're sometimes referred to as “neo-Ottomanism”. It is an atte
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Anyone who has followed President Erdogan's career since 2002 could be surprised by the snap election decision because in the past he has denounced early elections as either a sign of underdevelopment or of treason. Despite this framing of it, he had to call snap elections almost
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee For the opposition, it will be tricky to run under the state of emergency conditions. Most public gatherings and rallies are severely restricted. Journalists are in jail. More than 90% of Turkey's print and visual media are under Erdogan's direct or indirect control. There's a hu
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee I think we have to tackle this problem at two different levels. On the one hand, we see that Turkey has a major human resource problem at this point, a bottleneck. At the same time, in addition to the arrests, dismissals, and blacklisting, we are also seeing an exodus, a brain dr
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Yes. Since for the most part Turkey now lacks an independent media for a robust civil society, I think it's imperative that Turkey's friends carry out fact-finding missions and report on the state of human rights in Turkey, as well as showing that they're in solidarity with Turke
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Can I add one point? I think what makes the crackdown on Turkish academics really egregious is the fact that it is not just a purge of academics; it is more. Cancelling their passports, pensions, and health insurance, blacklisting them so that they can no longer be gainfully empl
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Yes. I see Turkey as really the linchpin of the transatlantic alliance in southeastern Europe. However, under Erdogan's presidency, we see Turkey increasingly pivoting away from the transatlantic values and the alliance toward Russia and Iran. The hollowing out of Turkey's instit
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Please go ahead.
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir
Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee Turkish president Erdogan comes from a political tradition that's close to the Muslim Brotherhood and has often seen himself as one of the global leaders of an emerging network of Muslim Brotherhood dominated countries. However, following the collapse of the Arab Spring, Erdogan
April 26th, 2018Committee meeting
Dr. Aykan Erdemir