Protesters Injured Outside the Turkish Embassy in DC After Trump-Erdogan Meeting on May 16, 2017

The future of diplomacy-No sooner had the meeting between President Trump and the Turkish Ambassador finalized than chaos emanated outside the ambassadors residence. A footage of the incident shows individuals beating each other while the police are handling some. Some policemen are also using force to stop the fight in addition to arresting some of the civilians. There also appears to be a language barrier whereby the protestors are mostly using their foreign language while the police are using the English language. The footage also shows some individuals bleeding and others seriously injured from the violence.

The footage shows the involvement the presidents security guards in the attack whereby they are also attacking the demonstrators. One can differentiate them from the crowd with respect to their dressing and the side of the attack. The security guards are dressed in black suits in which some of them have badges. The police also engage in brutality whereby some of them attack the warring parties with their weaponry. Some individuals, including women, are seen lying helpless on the floor while some are seen shouting in their native language some words that imply disgust. It is important to note that the protest had begun a few days before the presidential meeting. Therefore, the chances are that the attack against the demonstrators might have been planned by the individuals who are part of the presidents supporters. Also, it is perceived that some of the presidents supporters had weapons which imply that they were not present to see and greet the president, as per the reports from the Turkish Embassy, but rather to attack the peaceful demonstrators.

According to a report in a CNN column, nine individuals were injured during the protest outside the Turkish ambassadors residence in Washington, DC. The incident occurred on 16th May 2017; hours after the end of the meeting between President Donald Trump and Turkeys President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The meeting took place in the White House. According to the article, the source of information was the Fire and EMS Departments official Twitter handle. It is perceived that about twenty-four protestors showed up to team up against the policies by the Turkish president. The policies, in this case, are viewed to apply in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The article includes footage that was posted on Facebook that includes some protesters severely bleeding from the incidence. The writer of the article highlights some of the issues that bipartisan lawmakers had presented to President Trump for him to discuss with the Turkish president. The key issues include; the increase in dissent suppression in Turkey with respect to human rights, the fragility present in democratic bodies, mass detentions, the deterioration of human rights, and the restrictions of the civil society that had occurred in the country before the President was accorded more time and power in the country. Nonetheless, President Trump failed to touch on any of the issues during their meeting but instead esteemed the efforts by Turkey on the war on ISIS and those regarding internal terrorist attacks (Cohen, 2017).

An article in the New York Times includes the view that the supporters of the Turkish president including the presidents security forces and a number of individuals who were armed attacked a group of protestors on the grounds of the residence of the Turkish ambassador. It also includes a footage on the events that took place during the attack. Unlike the article by the CNN, this article highlights the fact that the police were highly involved in violently attacking the protestors. The article is quite comprehensive whereby it presents the view that eleven people received injuries during the attack including one of the police officers. Also, nine individuals were taken to the hospital. According to the article, the State Government was against the attack for it highly upholds the aspect of free speech. Therefore, it would not tolerate such an action in the country. The writer states, Photos and videos posted on social media by witnesses showed a chaotic scene of flying fists, feet and police batons all in the middle of rush hour traffic along stately Embassy Row. The video showed two men bleeding from the head and men in dark suits punching and kicking protesters, some lying on the ground, (Fandos & Mele, 2017). Similarly to the CNN article, the article highlights the fact that President Trump did not raise any concerns that were presented to him by the bipartisan but rather praised Turkey for its efforts in attacking ISIS and other terrorist organizations. The article also includes the view that in response to the attack, it is perceived that the demonstrators came to attack the presidents supporters who had gathered outside the ambassadors residence to greet the president. This is as per the reports from the Turkish Embassy in which it is viewed to counter with what had been captured by the cameras and posted on social media sites (Fandos & Mele, 2017). Both articles highlight the fact that the protestors were violently attacked such that most of them were injured.

References

Cohen, Z. (2017). Protesters injured outside Turkish embassy in DC after Trump-Erdogan meeting. CNN.com. Retrieved from, http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/16/politics/anti-erdogan-protest-washington-turkish-embassy/index.html

Fandos, N. & Mele, C. (2017). Erdogan Security Forces Launch Brutal Attack on Washington Protesters, Officials Say. The New York Times. Retrieved from, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/turkish-embassy-protest-dc.html