WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that the violence against peaceful protesters by bodyguards for Turkey’s president was “completely indefensible,” as members of Congress pressed the Trump administration for a more forceful U.S. response.
Ryan, R-Wis., said in a statement that Turkey is an important ally and NATO member but its leaders must “fully condemn and apologize for this brutal behavior against innocent civilians exercising their First Amendment rights” last week outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.
Also Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a letter to demand that the Turkish government waive any claims to immunity for the bodyguards.
If the Turkish government won’t agree, Tillerson should revoke the diplomatic credentials of Serdar Kilic, Turkey’s ambassador, and rescind visas for other unspecified Turkish government officials, according to the lawmakers, led by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Ryan is the latest senior congressional Republican to assail the actions of the Turkish security force that accompanied Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on his visit to Washington. Erdogan’s bodyguards were seen on videos hitting and kicking protesters who had gathered peacefully outside the ambassador’s residence.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in a May 18 letter with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., warned the Turkish government there could be fiscal repercussions if it failed to punish the bodyguards.