As Directus.gr first reported two days ago, thirty-five representatives of the US House pledged – in a bipartisan letter to President Biden – to “take every action provided to us as members of Congress” to prevent the sale of American fighters of F-16 aircraft and upgrade kits to Turkey in light of the Erdogan regime’s crackdown at home and aggression abroad against Greece, Cyprus, Armenians and Kurds, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) said.
In addition to ANCA, the following US civil society organizations oppose the F-16 sale to Turkey: American Friends of Kurdistan, American Jewish Committee, Hellenic American Leadership Council, In Defense of Christians, Middle East Forum and PSEKA – International Coordinating Justice Committee for Cyprus.
The letter is also supported by the “Hindu American Foundation”, i.e. the largest organization of Indians in the USA, where it specifically states:
“We welcome this important bipartisan letter and continue to champion #NoJetsForTurkey as part of a multi-faith coalition.
Turkey’s support for Kashmiri Islamists is a growing threat and cause for grave concern, and its behavior cannot be forgiven.”
”The lobby supported by FETO took action. The anti-Turkish lobby supported by FETO took action. 35 lawmakers, including Rep. Frank Palone, who opposes Gulen’s extradition, called for “an end to the sale of F-16s” in a letter to Biden. The letter, which includes statements aimed at Turkey, also supports Greece’s illegal and provocative positions.
MPs who vilify Turkey’s counter-terrorism operations in Iraq and Syria as “contrary to human rights” also supported Greece’s recent illegal stance and provocative statements. Underscoring that the US should not support Erdogan’s government with the F-16 deal, members of the anti-Turkey lobby have called for the strengthening of the Turkish military to be prevented. Palone, who led the lawmakers who wrote the letter, campaigned in 2018 to undermine diplomacy over the extradition of FETO leader Gulen and put pressure on the Trump administration. In the letter they wrote to Trump, the FETO-backed MPs led by Pallone called for “a halt to the extradition of the exiled cleric Gulen”.
Tony Cárdenas, who was also among the signatories of the letter opposing the sale of the F-16s, has campaigned targeting Turkey with baseless accusations in the Karabakh war, along with Armenian lobbies in the United States. Gus Bilirakis of the Greek lobby, which is among the signatories, shared a photo with FETO member Enes Kanter, whom Gulen calls his adopted son, and said: “I will make your voice heard in parliament.” Dina Titus, who led the campaign targeting Ülkü Ocakları in the US and whose meetings with Kanter were revealed via Zoom, is among the signatories of the scandalous F-16 letter.
