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Congress concerned over Turkey's drift from democracy

Lawmakers have asked the State Department to beef up its support for civil society in Turkey to encourage democratic governance.
Riot police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest in Ankara March 11, 2015. Turkish police on Wednesday fired water cannon and teargas at hundreds of protesters who had gathered to mark the first anniversary of the death of a teenager fatally wounded during anti-government demonstrations. Mainly leftist protesters chanting "Berkin Elvan is immortal" clashed with police in Istanbul and Ankara. Berkin Elvan, 15, was hit in the head by a teargas canister after leaving his house to buy bre
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US lawmakers are pressing the Barack Obama administration to beef up support for Turkey’s civil society as an antidote to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s perceived drift toward authoritarianism.

Five key House members wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry on March 27 urging him to launch a “formal dialogue” with Turkey aimed at strengthening political freedoms. They want the State Department to make clear that democratic governance is just as important as other priorities, such as economic cooperation and trade that already have their own regular bilateral forums.

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