Title: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Government of Turkey's crackdown on dissent related to its incursion into northeast Syria, and broader human rights violations.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution (1) reaffirms U.S. support of peaceful dissent in Turkey; (2) calls on Turkey to lift restrictions on freedom of expression and uphold democratic standards; and (3) encourages the United States to raise the issue of suppressed free speech in Turkey, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 418 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 418

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Government of Turkey's 
crackdown on dissent related to its incursion into northeast Syria, and 
                    broader human rights violations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 12, 2019

Mrs. Blackburn (for herself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Kaine, Mr. 
   Wyden, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Markey, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Blumenthal) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Government of Turkey's 
crackdown on dissent related to its incursion into northeast Syria, and 
                    broader human rights violations.

Whereas Turkey is a constitutional, secular state with an ethnically, 
        religiously, and culturally diverse population;
Whereas Turkey has been a modern democracy and a major North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO) ally to the United States;
Whereas Turkey is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights and is therefore obligated to uphold the freedom of its 
        people to peacefully express criticism of their government;
Whereas, immediately following the incursion by the Turkish Armed Forces into 
        northeast Syria on October 9, 2019, the Government of Turkey began a 
        coordinated crackdown on online dissent;
Whereas, on October 9, 2019, Turkey's National Security Directorate made a 
        statement that criminal investigations had been initiated against 78 
        people for ``inciting enmity and hatred through black propaganda [smear 
        campaign] against [Turkey] over Operation Peace Spring; sharing 
        unsourced and false social media postings intended to destroy the 
        reputation of [Turkey's] security forces and making propaganda for a 
        terrorist organization'';
Whereas expression of opposition views through social media posts, social media 
        reposts, and shared online articles has led to the investigation and 
        detention of individuals in the region;
Whereas the shared content targeted by Turkish authorities was largely authored 
        by Western and United States sources and outlets;
Whereas Turkey has over 120 journalists and media workers in jail, more than in 
        any other country, with most of them detained under propaganda charges;
Whereas, on October 10, 2019, the digital services manager of the Birgun daily 
        newspaper was detained in his home in Istanbul and questioned in 
        relation to a news article and a tweet said to have incited enmity or 
        hatred under the Article 216/1 of Turkish Penal Code;
Whereas, on October 11, 2019, Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu stated 
        during a speech that 121 people had been detained for their social media 
        posts ``insulting `Operation Peace Spring', describing [our] country as 
        an invader and insulating the unity of our nation'';
Whereas, on October 14, 2019, military police carried out a countrywide 
        operation with the aim of ``preventing and deterring sympathizers of the 
        terrorist organization from [engaging in provocations related to] 
        Operation Peace Spring'' in which over 500,000 people were interrogated 
        and 152 people were detained, according to Amnesty International;
Whereas, as of October 16, 2019, authorities have identified 839 social media 
        accounts under investigation and 186 individuals taken into police 
        custody since October 9, 2019, related to ``shared criminal content'';
Whereas, on October 19, 2019, police raided several homes of human rights 
        defenders and journalists on counts of ``inciting enmity or hatred'' 
        through social media posts;
Whereas, on October 25, 2019, criminal complaints were made against the French 
        weekly journal Le Point for its coverage of the military offensive;
Whereas the style and scale of the social media crackdown specific to Turkish 
        operations in Syria has recent precedent in the aftermath of the Turkish 
        Armed Forces' Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, in which--

    (1) 1,719 social media accounts were investigated;

    (2) 845 people were detained for social media posts; and

    (3) 643 people were subject to judicial proceedings;

        including 11 physician members of the Turkish Medical Association's 
        Central Council, who were sentenced to terms up to 3 years and three 
        months for calling to an end to the Afrin military operation;

Whereas Turkish authorities have targeted more than a thousand criminal defense 
        lawyers as part of the ongoing crackdown on dissent;
Whereas more than 265 academics have been prosecuted in Turkey for signing an 
        appeal for peace between the Government of Turkey and Kurdish 
        insurgents;
Whereas human rights violations have been a defining aspect of President 
        Erdogan's authoritarian rule, including--

    (1) the removal of at least 88 of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic 
Party (HDP) mayors from office in the last three years and their 
replacement with state-appointed trustees;

    (2) the detention of HDP members of parliament; and

    (3) the detention of Turkish employees of United States diplomatic 
facilities in Turkey;

Whereas blanket bans on peaceful protests of any form have been implemented by 
        local governors across Turkey; and
Whereas these bans have resulted in the arrest and detention of many people and 
        represent clear violations to the right to peaceful assembly as 
        protected by international human rights conventions to which Turkey is a 
        party and by the Constitution of Turkey: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reaffirms the position of the United States that 
        peaceful dissent should be protected under the right of freedom 
        of expression in Turkey;
            (2) condemns policies and efforts by the Government of 
        Turkey to suppress peaceful protesters, including those 
        expressing dissent against military operations by the Turkish 
        Armed Forces or policies instituted by the Government of 
        Turkey;
            (3) stands with the defenders of free speech and human 
        rights in Turkey;
            (4) encourages senior United States administration 
        officials to raise the issue of suppression of free speech and 
        media in Turkey at the highest levels, both bilaterally and 
        multilaterally;
            (5) encourages United States embassy and consular staff to 
        attend politically motivated trials; and
            (6) calls on the Government of Turkey to--
                    (A) immediately lift restrictions on freedom of 
                expression, including expression online or in social 
                media;
                    (B) ensure that criticism of the Turkish Armed 
                Forces' military operations or calling for peace--
                through media, social media, peaceful assembly, or 
                other peaceful means--is not criminalized;
                    (C) drop all charges and end prosecution of 
                individuals or groups for peaceful expression of their 
                opposition to Turkey's military operations in Syria;
                    (D) ensure that people can gather and protest 
                peacefully, including by lifting blanket protest bans 
                across the country;
                    (E) release all political prisoners, including 
                journalists and Turkish employees of United States 
                diplomatic missions; and
                    (F) respect the rights of Turkish citizens to elect 
                their leaders through a democratic process.
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