Turkish Foreign Ministry Condemns ‘Baseless’ US Report On Human Rights

In a statement on Friday, Turkey’s foreign ministry slammed the 2022 Human Rights Report of the US Department of State, saying it includes “unfounded allegations and prejudiced comments” about the country and asked Washington to pay attention to its own record on human rights instead.

The report includes “false information”, is completely devoid of objectivity, is clearly shaped by political motives, and cannot be taken seriously, the statement read.

It highlighted Turkey’s continued fight against terrorist organisations, especially PKK/PYD/YPG, FETO, DAESH, and DHKP-C, to ensure its security as well as that of the region, within the framework of international law and respect for human rights.

The ministry expressed its regret over the US report addressing only some of the terrorist attacks carried out by the PKK in the country and the human rights violations committed by the organisation last year. While the violations committed by the ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ in Syria are a part of the report, the US agency failed to mention that the structure is under the control of the PKK/PYD/YPG terror group.

The Turkish ministry questioned the credibility and legitimacy of the report in its statement, underscoring the point that the “report was prepared by a country that condones the activities of PKK/PYD/YPG and FETO terrorist organisations and even establishes ‘partnerships’ with them.”

While concluding, the statement reiterated that the report lacks objectivity and has been shaped by political objectives, while emphasising that Turkey would continue its efforts to protect the rights of the millions of people within its borders and that it won’t give credit to the biased and baseless accusations.