Turkey complains about 'aggressive' US police after Erdoğan protest brawl

Turkey has summoned the American ambassador to complain about the behaviour of US security personnel during a US visit by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that turned violent when Erdoğan’s diplomatic escort beat up protesters outside the Turkish diplomatic mission in Washington.

Videos of the altercation, in which Erdoğan’s bodyguards were shown beating demonstrators outside the Turkish embassy as the president looked on, elicited condemnations by American lawmakers, with John McCain saying the country’s ambassador should be “thrown out”.

On Monday, however, Ankara said it had lodged a verbal and written protest at the behavior of US security personnel, saying they had taken actions that were “aggressive and unprofessional” and “contrary to diplomatic rules and practices”.

It was an apparent reference to Washington Metropolitan police officers’ attempts to break up the scuffles, sometimes using batons.

“It has been formally requested that the US authorities conduct a full investigation of this diplomatic incident and provide the necessary explanation,” the foreign ministry said in its statement.

Heather Nauert, a spokesperson for the state department, confirmed that ambassador John Bass was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry, but added: “the conduct of Turkish security personnel last week was deeply disturbing. The state department has raised its concerns about those events at the highest levels.”

The relationship between Washington and Ankara has been rocky in recent years over American backing of Kurdish militants fighting the terror group Islamic State in northern Syria. Turkey considers the group in question, the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), an affiliate of its own Kurdish insurgent movement (the PKK), which is labeled a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union.

The Obama administration had backed the YPG with airpower in its campaign, and the Trump administration has pledged to directly arm the group in its effort to seize Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa.

The US has also not extradited Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive preacher based in Pennsylvania whose movement is widely believed in Turkey to have masterminded a coup attempt last July that killed 250 people.

The latest diplomatic incident appears to be a Turkish signal of displeasure after months of anticipating a better relationship with Washington after Trump’s swearing in.

Tensions in the bilateral relationship surfaced at a US-Turkish conference in Washington on Monday. The US acting deputy secretary of state, Thomas Shannon, said “Americans were ... surprised and disturbed by the violent incident outside the Turkish residence during President Erdoğan’s visit last week.”

“During that incident, Americans saw lawful protesters attacked,” he added. “It is important to note that in the US such protests are legal, protected and customary. They are a manifestation of rights that we hold dearly. In this regard we found the attack deplorable and lacking in respect for our laws that we expect from visitors.”

Shannon, however, thanked the Turkish ambassador to the US, Serdar Kılıç, for “attempting to stop the fight” and calming nerves.

Kılıç was unapologetic for the role of Turkish security men. He did not directly address the attacks on demonstrators but criticised US authorities for allowing PKK supporters to protest.

“It was really disappointing to see the so-called flags of the PKK, which is a US-designated terrorist organisation, on the streets of Washington DC, and the supporters of the so-called leader of the PKK again on the streets of Washington DC,” the ambassador said. “We do not take it as an expression of freedom of expression. It is an expression of solidarity with terrorists.”

He also used the occasion to lambast the Trump administration for its decision to arm the YPG.

“I can hardly understand or accept the argument that the US has to conduct operations on Raqqa by making use of YPG/YDD since there is no alternative on the ground. There is Turkey, and there is the Free Syrian Army that have successfully conducted operations Euphrates Shield against Daesh [Isis],” Kılıç said.

“You cannot and should not make use of a terrorist organisation in your fight against another terrorist. Especially when a 65-year-old ally tells you that this terrorist organisation that you are in partnership with constitutes an existential threat to its national security and stability,” he added. “Don’t let the trees surrounding you blind you to the forest. History tells us that short-term and short-sighted tactical choices could in the long run lead to strategic weaknesses.”

The diplomatic sparring took place as an annual conference on government and business relations between the two countries was under way in Washington at a new venue: the Trump international hotel.

The co-sponsor of the conference is the Turkey-US Business Council, whose chairman is Kamil Ekim Alptekin. His company paid the Flynn Intel Group – owned by the former national security adviser Michael Flynn – more than $500,000 for lobbying likely to favour the Turkish government. Alptekin also has business ties to Russia.

The organisers of the event insist that the decision was made to move the event from the Washington Ritz-Carlton before Trump was elected, but government ethics experts said its use is a violation of the emoluments clause of the US constitution that prohibits officials from receiving gifts or payments.

Last week, a protest projected a large sign over the Trump International hotel facade saying “Pay Trump Bribes Here” with an arrow pointing to the entrance.