To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate

Congress: Criticize Turkey Govt. Abuses of Human Rights

Members of Congress should speak up against human rights abuses by the government of Turkey, including attacks on Kurdish civilians and attacks on press freedom.

Why is this important?

The government's takeover of Zaman newspaper is the latest deeply troubling episode in the Turkish authorities’ ongoing onslaught on dissenting media, Amnesty International says. The week before, TV channel IMCTV was taken off air, silencing the only national news channel reporting a critical view of the situation in south-eastern Turkey, where round-the-clock curfews were imposed as armed clashes devastated entire towns. [1]

Kurdish residents recently returned to the town of Cizre in south-eastern Turkey to find many of their homes obliterated by the government's military campaign to crush Kurdish rebels. [2] Some residents called the destruction a "second Kobani," referring to the Kurdish town in Syria that endured a brutal siege at the hands of ISIS. [3] Turkey's most prominent journalist compared it to Dresden in 1945. [4]

The U.S. government characterizes Turkey as a close NATO ally, [5] so the U.S. government should use its influence to press the Turkish government to respect human rights. Urge your representatives in Congress to speak up about Turkish government abuses of human rights by signing our petition.

References:
1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/03/turkey-fears-of-zaman-newspaper-takeover/
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/12181740/Cizre-Kurds-PKK-Turkey-military-rubble-offensive.html
3. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-rolls-back-curfew-kurdish-town-37327505
4. http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/cengiz-candar/dresden-1945ten-cizre-2016-adindaki-mezarliga-1521904/
5. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/03/253948.htm#TURKEY