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Tom Brake calls for Turkey to be suspended from NATO

by Steve Beasant on 30 July, 2016

tomThe following article was published yesterday on the Liberal Democrat Voice Website.

As the human rights situation in Turkey worsens, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Tom Brake has called for Turkey to be suspended from NATO and for the refugee deal between Turkey and the EU to be scrapped.

Tom Brake said:

Erdogan’s ongoing purge of newspapers, academics, teachers and judges has nothing to do with Turkey’s security and everything to do with blocking any opposition to his increasingly authoritarian rule. Today’s news that dozens more media outlets have been shut should send shivers down the spine of any person who believes in a free and open society.

The preamble to NATO’s founding treaty refers to it being “founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law”, all of which are under threat in Turkey currently.

If the UK and our NATO allies want to protect these core principles, it is time to make it clear to Erdogan that his actions will have lasting international consequences, and I am calling on NATO to urgently consider suspension of Turkey’s membership.

I am also calling for the scrapping of the EU/Turkey refugee deal, as the previous flimsy justifications for the deportation of refugees to Turkey are rendered indefensible by current circumstances.

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