Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu featured in the Associated Press

In a June 13 article by Suzan Fraser for the Associated Press, “Erdogan and Biden meet at a tense moment for Turkish-US ties,” Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu discussed the upcoming Monday meeting between President Biden and Turkish president Erdoğan at the NATO summit.

“The most important thing for the Turkish leader at this time is to give a veneer of positive relations with the U.S. in terms of Turkey’s image,” said Merve Tahiroglu, Turkey program coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy. “He seems to understand that to get any kind of international investment to Turkey, he will need to project an image of positive relations with the U.S.”

Read the full piece here.

Photo Credit: Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu featured in Ahval’s Hot Pursuit Podcast

In a June 12, 2021 episode of Ahval’s Hot Pursuit podcast entitled, “‘Erdoğan, and not Biden, has high expectations from the crucial meeting’ – Merve Tahiroğlu,” Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu discussed Turkey president Erdoğan’s position and prospects going into his meeting with President Biden at the NATO summit.

Ankara really wants an image of positive U.S-Turkish relations, Tahiroğlu said, adding that the Turkish government “says that it has come to some sort of resolution in one of the major bilateral issues”.

Turkey could find solutions for the S-400 crisis, where Turkey’s purchase of the Russian weapons systems led to its removal from NATO’s fifth-generation fighter jet programme and brought on U.S. sanctions, or the eastern Mediterranean crisis, where Turkey stands antagonistic against almost all its maritime neighbours, but without real democracy the new leaf in U.S.-Turkey relations is not coming, according to Tahiroğlu.

“The more authoritarian Turkey becomes and the more it strays away from democratic values, it is only going to continue to play a spoiler role in multilateral institutions that are aimed at safeguarding democratic principles around the world,” she warned.

Watch the full episode here, listen to the audio here, or read the article covering it here. Photo Credit: Ahval’s Hot Pursuit podcast

Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu writes commentary for Foreign Policy

Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu co-wrote a commentary, “In Meeting With Erdogan, Biden Holds the Power,” with former U.S. ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman, that appeared in Foreign Policy on Tuesday. In their analysis, Tahiroğlu and Edelman discussed the tension-filled context of the upcoming conversation between the two presidents and urged Biden to press Erdoğan on three human rights issues in Turkey—namely, the unjust detentions of U.S. consular employees; the continued imprisonment of prominent civil society leader Osman Kavala; and the repression targeting the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Turkey’s largest Kurdish opposition party.

Already, Biden’s frostiness has helped create leverage over Erdogan, who appears to be seeking a fresh start with the U.S. leader in Brussels. Biden must now make clear to Erdogan that an authoritarian Turkey is a threat not just to core U.S. values but also to U.S. security. More than paying lip service to democracy and the rule of law, Biden should use this meeting to press Erdogan on some specific human rights concerns that speak to Turkey’s democratic malaise and increasing disdain for civilized international behavior.

[…]

Although Erdogan, his top officials, and their media handmaidens continue to use the United States as a punching bag to shore up votes, the Turkish leader also appears to understand a positive relationship with the United States is crucial for keeping the Turkish economy afloat. When Biden meets with Erdogan next week, he should make it clear that maintaining a working relationship with Washington requires respecting human rights and the rule of law. Ending the unjust imprisonment of U.S. employees, Kavala, and Kurdish politicians would be a good place to start.

Read the full piece here.

Photo Credit: Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Advocacy Director Seth Binder featured in The World

In a June 8 interview with Rupa Shenoy for The World, “Activists look to Congress after Biden requests military aid for Egypt without human rights conditions,” Advocacy Director Seth Binder discussed the Biden Administration’s failure to address human rights in Egypt, highlighting their request for $1.3 billion in military assistance to Egypt in the FY22 Budget.

Groups, including Amnesty International, had urged the administration to use the aid to encourage Cairo to address abuses. But instead, the proposed defense budget released late last month makes the same request for Egypt that’s been made since 1987.

“To me, this is policy on autopilot, on cruise control,” said Seth Binder, director of advocacy at the Project on Middle East Democracy.

[…]

The Biden administration has already indicated it will take a nuanced approach to its relationship. But in February, it approved a $197 million sale of missiles to the country, to the disappointment of human rights activists.

“That was an opportunity for the US government to say, ‘No, no, no, we are making a change. We’re not just going to continue business as usual and move forward on an arms sale. We’re going to need to see legitimate progress on human rights reforms,’” Binder said. “And they didn’t do that.”

[…]

Advocates pushing for a harsher stance toward Egypt now have their hopes centered on the US Congress, where the budget will go next for review. And Congress has already shown a willingness to act. Last year, it made a portion of aid to Egypt conditional to the release of political prisoners. But Blinken has the power to waive that requirement in the interest of national security, and he has until the end of September to do so.

Binder hopes Congress takes that power away: “I’d like to see them remove the national security waiver entirely to send the strong message that Congress does care about human rights in Egypt, and is unwilling to sit back and wait anymore.”

Read and listen to the full piece here.

on Facebook ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﻔﺘﺎح اﻟﺴﻴﺴPhoto Credit: AbdelFattah Elsisi –  Advocacy Director Seth Binder featured in Middle East Eye

In a June 4 article by Ali Harb for Middle East Eye, “How Israel’s latest offensive on Gaza shifted Biden’s tone on Egypt,” Advocacy Director Seth Binder discussed the Biden Administration’s shift in position on Egypt, the proposed budget, and the importance of recentering human rights in US- Egypt relations.

As president, Biden has pledged to pursue a human rights-centred foreign policy.

“It’s hard to reconcile how you can have human rights be at the centre of the relationship when you’re at the same time asking for more than $1bn in military aid, and you don’t want human rights conditions placed on it,” said Seth Binder, advocacy officer for the Project on Middle East Democracy (Pomed).

[…]

Binder said the Biden administration has shifted its tone towards Egypt since the Gaza crisis.

“There has been a demonstrated change in the rhetoric… It does seem to send a clear signal that these other issues are taking precedent, and human rights aren’t quite as central as human rights advocates would like,” Binder told MEE.

Read the full piece here.

on Facebook ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﻔﺘﺎح اﻟﺴﻴﺴPhoto Credit: AbdelFattah Elsisi – 

Advocacy Director Seth Binder featured in Al Jazeera

In a May 29 article by Joseph Stepansky for Al Jazeera, “US faces ‘difficult questions’ on Egypt ties after Gaza ceasefire,” Advocacy Director Seth Binder discussed the Biden Administration’s response to Egyptian president el-Sisi’s roll in the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Seth Binder, the advocacy officer at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), said the Biden administration’s expression of gratitude “misread” the situation and sent the wrong message to Cairo.

“The Egyptians are doing this out of their own interest,” he told Al Jazeera. “We don’t need to bend over backwards to try to congratulate them on doing what’s in their interests.

“We can still work with them on brokering a ceasefire, and at the same time pressure them and continue to centre human rights in the relationship.”

Read the full piece here.

Photo Credit: Joe Biden on Facebook

Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu featured on Al Jazeera’s “The Stream”

In a May 19 episode of Al Jazeera’s “The Stream,” “Is Clubhouse a free speech haven?,” Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu discussed the evolution of Clubhouse from a safe space for Turkish grassroots organization into another government-policed social media platform.

“For many weeks it functioned as a relatively safe space where they could reach a broad audience. But as soon as the government discovered the app, of course, it also began to monitor and police those discussion rooms, and flooded the app with its own supporters to try to dominate the conversation. People still use Clubhouse, but as with other social media platforms, it’s no longer really a safe space for free speech.” Watch the full video here.

Photo Credit: Al Jazeera | The Stream

Tom Lantos Commission Briefing – “Human Rights and U.S. Policy in the MENA Region Ten Years After the Arab Spring”

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a briefing April 29th, 2021, on the state of human rights in the Middle East and North Africa ten years after the Arab Spring and implications for U.S. foreign policy.

A simple but desperate act of protest in Tunisia in December 2010, the self-immolation of a frustrated street vendor, sparked a series of pro-democracy uprisings in largely Muslim countries throughout the MENA region that became known as the Arab Spring. Inspired by the rapid resignation of Tunisia’s authoritarian president, popular movements seeking political reform and greater respect for human rights swept the region. But ten years later, some initial successes have been rolled back, most of the movements have been brutally repressed, authoritarian rulers have consolidated their power and three countries have been ravaged by armed conflicts whose devastating humanitarian consequences have been felt far beyond their borders. The methods used to suppress dissent have entailed widespread human rights violations, including criminalization of speech and association, prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, stripping of nationality, reprisals against family members, and intrusive regulation of non-governmental organizations, often under cover of anti-terrorism laws. Several of the countries with the worst records in this regard are long- standing allies of the United States. The occasional imposition of sanctions on some of those alleged to be responsible for some of the worst abuses have not generally succeeded in changing regime behavior.

Witnesses examined the patterns of human rights abuses documented since the Arab Spring and offer recommendations for a human-rights based U.S. foreign policy toward the region.

Panelists

Philippe Nassif, Advocacy Director, Middle East and North Africa, Amnesty International USA Sarah Holewinski, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch Samuel Tadros, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) Stephen McInerney, Executive Director, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)

Read POMED Executive Director Stephen McInerney’s full written testimony here.

Oral testimony from POMED’s Executive Director Stephen McInerney is as follows (read them as a PDF here):

Good morning. I’d like to thank the Lantos Commission, its co-chairs, Congressman McGovern and Congressman Smith, and all other members, for their crucial work to support human rights abroad. Thank you as well for convening this hearing on the important issues of human rights and U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa, and for giving me this opportunity to address you all.

I’d like to begin by speaking frankly about how I see the policies of the United States toward the Middle East and North Africa. I consider them a catastrophe, a strategic failure, and a moral stain on our country.

If the goals of the United States in this region were to facilitate human rights abuses, including the imprisonment, torture, and murder of innocent civilians; to prevent democratization; and to fuel radicalization, instability, and violence, then I would say that the longstanding American policies in place would be approximately the right ones, and I would say that those policies have been successful towards these unconscionable goals.

Given, however, that the officially stated goals of the United States are precisely the opposite of what I just described, the entirety of U.S. policy should be viewed as a spectacular failure.

But one of the most striking things about U.S. policy toward the Middle East is that no matter what happens, no matter how badly policies fail, the answer in Washington is always to double down on those policies rather than ever changing course.

In the 1990s, U.S. policy toward the MENA region was already dominated by the provision of weapons and other support to repressive authoritarian regimes. Following the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, the two main U.S. responses in the region were: first, the invasion of Iraq, an enormous strategic error with devastating consequences, and second, a dramatic increase in the delivery of arms to authoritarian regimes.

A decade later, in 2011, the Arab Spring uprisings ousted four dictators from power within 13 months, demonstrating the folly of relying on dictatorships to provide stability, and also demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the citizens of the region for the rights and freedoms enjoyed by others around the world. These remarkable events should have been viewed by the United States as a historic opportunity to overhaul failed policies. Instead, the opposite happened. The main response of the Obama administration was to double down on failing policies, by drastically increasing weapons sales to dictatorships. Then the Trump administration doubled down yet again, ramping up these sales to all new heights.

The disturbing reality is that the Washington policy community seems to not actually care about stability in the Middle East, despite decades of rhetoric to the contrary, and most policymakers in Washington don’t care at all about human rights either.

Instead, the single most important driver of U.S. policy is the corrupt influence of actors who benefit from the status quo and from existing policies, especially the repugnant dictatorships who are in fact themselves the main source of instability.

The most dangerous development regarding U.S. policy toward the MENA region is the escalation of the corrupt use of funds by some of the world’s worst dictators – who should be viewed as mass murderers and terrorists – to buy influence here in Washington, through lobbying contracts, weapons purchases, funding for think tanks and universities, and strategic investments in our private sector.

It’s simply not possible to support human rights and to support dictatorship. You have to choose, supporting one of those means opposing the other, and our government, tragically, consistently supports dictatorship across the region rather than democracy and human rights, and with disastrous yet predictable consequences.

To improve U.S. policy toward the MENA region, this must fundamentally change. Our country must support human rights and oppose the brutality of dictatorship.

What would this mean in practice? So many changes, but for the moment I’d like to highlight three main suggestions:

My first recommendation is to end support for murderous dictators. Conveniently, numerous federal laws ban weapons sales and military aid to regimes guilty of egregious human rights abuses. That means that the dominant form of U.S. engagement with the region is in fact illegal under our own laws, laws that successive administrations have blatantly ignored. Congress – led by members of the Lantos Commission – should aggressively demand and enforce compliance by the executive branch with such laws.

My second recommendation is that whenever there is progress toward democratization, supporting that progress should be a top priority. In the past decade, the only country making real progress on democracy and human rights is Tunisia. Supporting Tunisian democracy should be the number one priority for the United States in the region. Sadly, it has been more of an afterthought.

My third recommendation is that Congress should actively fight against the pervasive, corrupt influence of dictatorships here in Washington. Members of this commission should firmly oppose the inclusion of witnesses during Congressional hearings from any organization funded by authoritarian regimes. In addition, Congress should pass legislation barring anyone who has served in either the executive or legislative branch from working for such organizations. And anyone who has been on the payroll of dictatorships should be barred from service in our government.

Thank you, I will leave my remarks there and I look forward to your questions.

Find a PDF version of these remarks here.

Find a PDF of the full written testimony here. Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu featured in the Washington Post

In an April 26 article by Ishaan Tharoor for the Washington Post, “The U.S. sees a historical genocide. Turkey sees a political vendetta,” Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu discussed President Biden’s recent statement, which formally recognized the ethnic cleansing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

Ultimately, the political price for Biden was not that high. “The deterioration of the U.S.- Turkish alliance in recent years helped facilitate President Biden’s decision to recognize the genocide, in that it removed a political obstacle to the recognition,” Merve Tahiroglu, a Turkey scholar at the Project on Middle East Democracy, told Today’s WorldView. “The very deliberate wording of Biden’s statement shows that the president took care not to weaponize this history against Turkey, in spite of the widespread contempt for Erdogan in Washington.”

Read the full piece here. Photo Credit: Homenetmen Eastern Region USA on Facebook

Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu featured on France24’s The Debate

In an April 26 segment of France24’s The Debate, “Erdogan’s battles: Turkey’s leader digs in against domestic rivals,” Turkey Program Coordinator Merve Tahiroğlu talked about the country’s recent economic and Covid-related challenges and their foundation in Turkey’s current political system.

“There’s a lot that governments can do, and it’s important to be able to manage these kinds of crises. Turkey’s biggest problem right now is that there is no real meritocracy. There is no due process. There is no rule of law, and these are the biggest problems for the health and the wealth of Turkish citizens.”

Watch Merve’s remarks here.

Watch the full video here.

Photo Credit: France24’s The Debate