US Vice President Joe Biden called for a “change of attitude” by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan toward critics of Turkey’s increasingly destructive military campaign against Kurdish rebels and cities in southeast Turkey.
Speaking in Istanbul on Jan. 22, Biden said, “If you don’t have an ability to express your opinion, to criticize a policy, to offer competing ideas without fear of intimidation or retribution, the country is robbed of opportunity and the country is being robbed of possibilities.” He added, “When Internet freedom is curtailed and social media sites like YouTube or Twitter are shut down and more than 1,000 academics are accused of treason simply by signing a petition, that’s not the kind of example that needs to be set in the region.” Biden said that Turkey’s commitment to free expression and democracy matter “not only to Turks but to America.”
