We regret that the 2022 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act was approved in the House of Representatives together with an amendment that requires the Secretary of State to prepare a report on whether or not the movement “Bozkurtlar & Ülkü Ocakları” should be defined as a terrorist organization.

The final text of the Act is yet to be published and the ratification process is still ongoing. However, it is regretful and worrying that such a groundless amendment incompatible with the spirit of the alliance between Turkey and the U.S. could even be considered in a house of the U.S. Congress.

Such initiatives from anti-Turkish lobbies, first embraced by some European circles and now in the U.S., harm our common fight against terrorism. Our U.S. ally and all countries should be resolute in their fight against true terrorist organizations such as the PKK/PYD/YPG and FETO, instead of giving credit to imaginary and defamatory allegations. This kind of prejudice against our people who are integrated in the countries they live in is unacceptable.

We hope that the final text to be adopted by the Congress will not include such a baseless provision. Any attempt to restrict the freedom of association and expression of the Turkish-American community should be avoided.