Congressional Documents and Publications



REJECT WEAPONS SALE TO TURKISH BODYGUARDS, TROTT and 35 MEMBERS URGE TILLERSON


Rep. Trott leads bipartisan letter to Administration urging rejection
of proposed weapons sale to Erdogan bodyguards who violently attacked
protesters in D.C.;
Rep. Dave Trott (R-MI) News Release

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DOCUMENTS


WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representative Dave Trott (MI-11), Co-Chair
of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, issued the following statement
after leading a bipartisan letter of 36 Members of Congress, including
Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Intelligence Chairman Devin
Nunes, Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Eliot Engel, and Intelligence
Ranking Member Adam Schiff, to Secretary of State Tillerson urging him
to reject the proposed sale of semi-automatic handguns and ammunition
to the Turkish government:

"Right here, on U.S. soil, we witnessed President Erdogan's blatant
disregard for democracy as his henchmen waged a brutal attack on
peaceful protestors. As the very model of freedom and liberty around
the world, the United States cannot condone such an overt suppression
of democracy and this proposed arms deal would be nothing less than an
endorsement of Erdogan's henchmen's brutal attack. We need to call out
and hold accountable President Erdogan and his bodyguards for who they
really are - thugs."

On June 6, 2017, the House of Representatives unanimously passed
H.Res.354, condemning Turkish President Erdogan's bodyguards' attack
on peaceful protestors and demanding the perpetrators be held
accountable.

With over 17,000 Armenian-Americans in Michigan, Rep. Trott serves as
Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus. Rep. Trott's resolution to
recognize the Armenian Genocide (H.Res. 220) has garnered strong
bipartisan support with 45 co-sponsors, -including the Chairman and
Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Since coming to Congress, Rep. Trott has led the fight to recognize
the Armenian genocide joining a Congressional delegation to visit
Armenia for the 100th anniversary of the genocide and co-sponsoring a
resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the 114th Congress.
Historians believ-e as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks starting in 1915, yet international governments -
including the United States - have refused to label the killings as a
genocide.

A PDF of the signed letter is available here
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__trott.house.gov_sites_trott.house.gov_files_Proposed-2520Weapons-2520Deal.pdf&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=bQ7XED32rQhBhXMtPFt7rhvVsuJmhxru00VQihfdQRE&s=8HK9lfRKgNnDlJOj8pp4UgNONwhmjqwY0-9JVf8Fohw&e=
 .

Full text of the letter is as follows:

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We write today to urge you to reject the proposed sale of
semi-automatic handguns and ammunition to a Turkish government
controlled entity authorized to import firearms to the Department of
Security of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey.

As you know, on May 16, members of President Erdogan's security detail
violently attacked peaceful protestors outside the residence of the
Turkish Ambassador in Washington, DC. With President Erdogan just feet
away, looking on, armed members of his security detail unleashed a
vicious attack, targeting non-violent protestors and American
Diplomatic Security Officers, resulting in severe neurological, oral,
and maxillofacial injuries. Unfortunately, this is only the latest in
a series of disturbing attacks by President Erdogan's security forces
in the United States, including a brawl at the United Nations, and a
series of physical fights in Washington, DC in May 2016. This same
security force now stands to be the beneficiary of a potential arms
deal.

On June 6, 2017, the House of Representatives spoke strongly and
swiftly, voting unanimously to pass House Resolution 354, condemning
the violence that took place outside the Ambassador's residence on May
16, and calling on the perpetrators to be brought to justice under
U.S. law. We can no longer enable Turkey to compromise our democratic
values, and this proposed arms sale is nothing short of an endorsement
of the actions of President Erdogan's security force. As such, we
strongly urge you to reject this proposed sale and any potential
weapons transfer to President Erdogan's security detail.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Read this original document at:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__trott.house.gov_media-2Dcenter_press-2Dreleases_reject-2Dweapons-2Dsale-2Dturkish-2Dbodyguards-2Dtrott-2D35-2Dmembers-2Durge-2Dtillerson&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=bQ7XED32rQhBhXMtPFt7rhvVsuJmhxru00VQihfdQRE&s=gJ1gg-QIaClSxMiOVVv2vbD5i5idbZZ1bjp-GJf-3Lk&e=