Ankara Tells Washington To Focus on Its Own Human Rights Record Following New Report

Strait Talk

Turkiye's Foreign Ministry had harsh words for the US following the release of a report by the state department. Every year, the US releases a so-called human rights report on nearly every country, but for 2022, it was particularly critical of Turkiye. Ankara slammed allegations in the report as baseless, saying it contains erroneous information of unknown origin. Instead, Turkiye's foreign ministry called on the US to focus on its own record on human rights. The Ministry condemned, what it called a distorted portrayal of Turkiye's fight against terrorist organisations like the PKK and FETO, which orchestrated the failed July 15 coup. It added that the country would never compromise on its fight to ensure national security. Ankara highlighted that the US report was politically motivated and lacked objectivity. Turkiye, along with many other countries have criticised the annual reports released by the state department, citing their inconsistency, and double standards in detailing rights abuses. So does the US have the moral authority to release these types of reports given its own record? And will countries take these reports seriously? Guests: Javier Farje Political Analyst Bilgehan Ozturk Researcher at SETA