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U.S. Sailors Assaulted by Turkish Nationalists in Istanbul Nationalist Youths Attack U.S. Sailors in Turkey
(about 5 hours later)
ISTANBUL — Members of a Turkish nationalist youth group assaulted three visiting American sailors in Istanbul on Wednesday, hurling balloons filled with red paint at them, putting white sacks over their heads and calling them murderers. ISTANBUL — Members of a Turkish nationalist youth group assaulted three visiting American sailors in Istanbul on Wednesday, hurling balloons filled with red paint at them, putting white sacks over their heads and calling them murderers.
A video posted online by the group, the Turkish Youth Union, or T.G.B., shows a dozen of its members staging an anti-American protest in the touristy Eminonu district and attacking the sailors, who were not in uniform, in broad daylight. The Turkish authorities later arrested 12 people in connection with the assault, which the American Embassy in Ankara described as “appalling.”
A video posted online by the group, the Turkish Youth Union, or T.G.B., shows a dozen of its members staging an anti-American protest in the touristy Eminonu neighborhood and attacking the sailors, who were not in uniform, in broad daylight.
The sailors had just disembarked from the guided missile destroyer Ross, docked in Istanbul for a few days. They escaped and returned to the ship, and all shore leave for the crew was canceled.The sailors had just disembarked from the guided missile destroyer Ross, docked in Istanbul for a few days. They escaped and returned to the ship, and all shore leave for the crew was canceled.
The American Embassy called the attack “appalling,” and Turkey, a NATO member that routinely allows such port calls from the United States, promised to investigate. Turkey, a NATO member, routinely allows such port calls from the United States.
The assault and the publicity it received online came against the backdrop of continuing tensions between the United States and Turkey, worsened by Turkish reluctance to fully embrace the American-led military strikes against the extremist group Islamic State in neighboring Iraq and Syria. Hours after the video circulated, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tanju Bilgic, said in a statement, “We condemn this disrespectful act, which is in no way tolerable.” It was not immediately clear what charges, if any, would be lodged against the 12 people arrested. The assault and the publicity it received online came against the backdrop of continuing tensions between the United States and Turkey, worsened by Turkish reluctance to fully embrace the American-led military strikes against the extremist group Islamic State in neighboring Iraq and Syria.
The youth group, which is small and considered marginal, appeared to have carefully planned the assault on the unsuspecting sailors.The youth group, which is small and considered marginal, appeared to have carefully planned the assault on the unsuspecting sailors.
The red paint symbolized blood and the sacks over their heads were apparently a reference to an episode in 2003 when American soldiers in northern Iraq captured Turkish military personnel and put hoods over their heads.The red paint symbolized blood and the sacks over their heads were apparently a reference to an episode in 2003 when American soldiers in northern Iraq captured Turkish military personnel and put hoods over their heads.
The Turkish soldiers were held for more than two days, and the incident caused outrage across Turkey and fueled an anti-American sentiment. The Turkish soldiers were held for more than two days, and the episode caused outrage across Turkey and fueled an anti-American sentiment.
Turkey’s refusal to allow the use of its Incirlik air base in 2003 for the American-led invasion of Iraq strained relations and some of those tensions recently re-emerged after its reluctance to play a bigger role in the American-led campaign against the Islamic State.Turkey’s refusal to allow the use of its Incirlik air base in 2003 for the American-led invasion of Iraq strained relations and some of those tensions recently re-emerged after its reluctance to play a bigger role in the American-led campaign against the Islamic State.
“The T.G.B. members dedicated the protest to our martyrs and to the millions of innocent people slaughtered by the imperialism in the Middle East,” the union said in a statement published on its website.“The T.G.B. members dedicated the protest to our martyrs and to the millions of innocent people slaughtered by the imperialism in the Middle East,” the union said in a statement published on its website.
“This is a fringe group and the type of protest is marginal, but it will appeal to the wider public because it resonates with the national pride of Turks, which was hurt a decade ago,” said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States office in Ankara, the capital, in reference to the 2003 incident. “This is a fringe group and the type of protest is marginal, but it will appeal to the wider public because it resonates with the national pride of Turks, which was hurt a decade ago,” said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States office in Ankara, the capital, in reference to the 2003 episode.
Thirty-one percent of Turkish respondents hold a generally favorable opinion of the United States while 64 percent hold an unfavorable opinion, according to the 2014 Transatlantic Trends Survey conducted annually by the German Marshall Fund.Thirty-one percent of Turkish respondents hold a generally favorable opinion of the United States while 64 percent hold an unfavorable opinion, according to the 2014 Transatlantic Trends Survey conducted annually by the German Marshall Fund.
As the sailors broke free, their assailants chased them and shouted “Yankee go home!” and “Down with U.S. imperialism!”As the sailors broke free, their assailants chased them and shouted “Yankee go home!” and “Down with U.S. imperialism!”
The United States Embassy in Ankara issued a strong condemnation. “The video showing an assault on three visiting American sailors is appalling,” it said in a statement published on Twitter. “While we respect the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression, we condemn today’s attack in Istanbul.” The American Embassy condemned the attack. “The video showing an assault on three visiting American sailors is appalling,” it said in a statement on Twitter. A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren, was more blunt, saying that the assailants “appeared to be thugs on the street” and were “a great discredit upon the Turks and the Turkish reputation for hospitality.”
The Turkish government’s immediate response to the assault was conspicuously less forceful.
“It will be interesting to see what the Turkish government’s reaction is to this incident and whether they condemn it,” said Elmira Bayrasli, a Turkey expert and co-founder of Foreign Policy Interrupted. “If they skirt around the issue I fear that more attacks like this will be repeated.”