Turkish violence 'simply unacceptable': Tillerson
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has denounced a violent confrontation in Washington, DC, last week involving Turkish security personnel and anti-Ankara protesters, calling it “simply unacceptable.”
Tillerson said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that the State Department had summoned the ambassador of Turkey and told him "that this is simply unacceptable."
"There is an ongoing investigation," he said. "We'll wait and see what the outcome of that investigation is. But we have expressed our dismay at what occurred at the Turkish Embassy."
The crackdown on protesters erupted on Wednesday, when some demonstrators gathered outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence, where Erdogan was staying after meeting with his US President Donald Trump at the White House.
The peaceful protest turned into violent clashes when a group of Erdogan’s supporters taunted the first group and attacked them.
The situation escalated after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bodyguards and other Turkish security personnel interfered and violently attacked the protesters. And after this some US police officers also beat up Turkish security personnel.
Shortly after the incident, hawkish republican Senator John McCain and some other lawmakers expressed outrage and called for the Turkish ambassador to be expelled.
The Turkish embassy however blamed the violent incident on demonstrators supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been involved in an armed conflict with the Turkish state since 1984.
“The demonstrators began aggressively provoking Turkish-American citizens who had peacefully assembled to greet the president,” the embassy said. “The Turkish-Americans responded in self-defense and one of them was seriously injured.”
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