European Parliament calls for severe sanctions against Erdogan

CAIRO – 8 July 2020: Sixty-nine members of the European Parliament have submitted a memorandum to Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, regarding Turkey.

 

The EU members demanded severe economic sanctions against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan due to his “tyranny, repression of democracy and his interference in Syria, Iraq, and Libya.”

 

According to Turkish media, the memo stated the Turkish president had cracked down on many opponents on the pretext of declaring a state of emergency, during which he arrested more than 90,000 citizens, in the last five years, on charges of terrorism.

 

Among those were party leaders, members of parliament, thousands of Peoples' Democratic Party members, journalists, academics and human rights activists.

 

During this period, Erdogan described anyone who criticized his policy toward the Kurds as "a terrorist, a traitor and an enemy of the homeland", according to Turkish media.

 

On the situation in Iraq, members of the European Parliament have expressed increasing concern regarding the attacks conducted by Turkish forces on the Sinjar areas in Iraq, as well as the Turkish drone bombing of Kobani on June 23.

 

The deputies added that Turkey was a member of NATO, as well as a member of the Council of Europe, so Parliament should not tolerate such unacceptable acts against democracy and domestic and international law.

 

This memorandum came in conjunction with Borel's presence in Istanbul to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.