Turkish President Recep Erdogan State Visit

The motion

That the Parliament deplores the UK Government’s hosting of President Recep Erdogan of Turkey for a state visit, which is reported to include meetings with the Prime Minister and The Queen; condemns what it considers the increasingly authoritarian, anti-democratic and unjust actions of Erdogan and his government, which reportedly includes the arrest and prosecution of scores of opposition Members of Parliament, journalists, human rights defenders and ordinary citizens who it believes have done nothing more than criticise Erdogan on social media; understands that Selahattin Demirtas, the presidential candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) standing against Erdogan in the upcoming June elections, has been imprisoned since November 2016; notes the reported concerns that this snap poll will fall below the standards expected of a democratic nation; is concerned by what it believes to be the UK’s ongoing arms sales to the Turkish Government despite widespread condemnation of the actions of the Turkish military, both within Turkey directed at the Kurdish minority, and in the Afrin canton of neighbouring Syria, where it believes that Turkish forces work alongside extremist groups against the UK and United States-supported Democratic Federation of Northern Syria; further believes Recep Erdogan to be unworthy of a state visit, and calls for the release of political prisoners and a return to democratic norms in Turkey and the cessation of all UK arms sales to the Turkish Government.

No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

SNP 4 Green 2 Ind 1

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S5M-12249 by reference.