The United States rejected claims Monday that any US organizations or Americans were stirring up unrest in Turkey, where anti-government protests have raged nationwide for almost three weeks.
“We absolutely reject the accusations that US groups or individuals are responsible for or have elevated, or escalated, I should actually say, the protests in Turkey,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Turkey’s crisis began when a sit-in to save an Istanbul park from a redevelopment project prompted a brutal police response on May 31.
It has spiraled into countrywide demonstrations against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seen as increasingly authoritarian. So far, four people have been killed and nearly 7,500 people injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association.
Some Turkish leaders and media have protested that outside forces are trying to destabilize the country.
Psaki strongly rejected that notion, but said the United States would always stand by the right of freedom of speech and peaceful protest.
“Look, we are focused on calling for calm, on calling for restraint. We remain a close ally of Turkey,” she stressed.
“Of course, I’ve outlined and spoken, in a number of those occasions when you and others have asked, about concerns we have had. And we haven’t held back in that regard in any way.”
US denies Americans fomenting Turkey unrest
