By Laurence F. Sanford

It’s time to trot Türkiye out of NATO, as present-day Türkiye does not meet NATO membership values of democracy, cooperation on defense, trust amongst members, and prevention of conflict.

Values of Democracy

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in 1949 to unite European and North Atlantic countries against the threat of the Soviet Union. Membership is open to European states in a position to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area, promote democratic values, cooperate on defense, build trust, and prevent conflict.

Türkiye (formerly Turkey) has been a member of NATO since 1952. It was a significant contributor to Allied efforts in the Korean War and acted as a bulwark against communism and the Soviet Union. At the time of joining, Türkiye was a secular country ruled by the military. Now the Soviet Union no longer exists, and Türkiye is ruled by authoritarian Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan preaches and acts against Western values and NATO. His vision is to build a new Islamic Ottoman Empire under Turkish control, which includes reconquering former countries ruled by the Ottomans, such as Greece, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. The Hagia Sophia, the grandest Christian church in the world for over 1,000 years in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), was rededicated as a mosque in 2020. Erdogan’s interior minister said “we must dismantle America.”

Erdogan was reelected on May 28 for his third term as president of Türkiye. His margin of victory was 52% to 48% due to strong support from conservative Muslims. Erdogan won despite raging inflation, devaluation of the currency, a massive earthquake and deaths of thousands, jailing of political opponents, restrictions on press freedoms, and attacks on Christianity.

Democracy in Türkiye is fading away. Erdogan said that democracy for him is a train ride. “Once I get to my stop, I am getting off.” He has gotten off and is an Islamist autocrat stifling freedom.

1. Eric Kanter Freedom was born in Turkey and is now an American citizen who added “Freedom” to his name. The former Boston Celtic and NBA basketball star has a $500,000 bounty on his head and an arrest warrant issued by Erdogan because of Kanter Freedom’s criticism of the Erdogan regime. The NBA has blackballed Kanter Freedom because of his rhetoric against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) crimes against humanity. China is the source of billions of dollars in revenue for the NBA.

2. Freedom House, a U.S. government-funded organization in Washington, DC, put Türkiye in its not-free category of countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Türkiye 103 out of 167 for democracy. Erdogan uses anti-Western “we are against the infidels” rhetoric to whip up political support. “A Turk’s only friend is another Turk” is taught in schools.

3. Political opposition to Erdogan is stifled and opponents are thrown in jail. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was sentenced to two years in jail for calling election officials “idiots.” There are 21 Kurdish mayors in prison.

4. Journalists are thrown in jail or murdered if they criticize Erdogan. They are sued, have their press cards canceled, are under house arrest, or have international travel bans imposed. Media outlets find advertising revenues suspended or websites blocked, or they are forced off the air.

5. Kurdish repression is ongoing. Approximately 15 million Kurds live in Türkiye out of a total population of 80 million. The Kurds were promised their own nation after the demise of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in World War I, but Britain and France never kept the promise. Now Kurds are significant minorities in Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, and Iran. The banned Separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was an armed Marxist group formed to establish an independent Kurdistan. It now no longer engages in armed conflict and seeks greater autonomy within Türkiye.

Cooperation on Defense

Türkiye:

1. Bought the Russian air defense missile system S-400 and supporting intelligence systems for $2.5 billion. They are a major threat to U.S. national security since Türkiye has the world’s third-largest fleet of F-16 fighter jets (after the U.S. and Israel).

2. Invaded and now controls the northern third of Cyprus. It has purged most of the native Greeks and invited native Turks to replace them. Instead of a Berlin Wall that separated East and West Germany, Cyprus now has the" Green Line" separating Turks from Greeks. The Turkish section is recognized only by Türkiye as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

3. Conducts Gray Zone activities against fellow NATO member Greece. Türkiye flies warplanes over Greek islands and threatens to invade them.

4. Blackballs Sweden from joining NATO because it harbors Kurdish political refugees. Erdogan demands Sweden send the Kurdish PKK back to Türkiye for Turkish justice (an oxymoron) even though Kurds are living peacefully and not all are PKK members. A recent Quran burning in Sweden inflamed Muslim sensibilities. Expressions of free speech pertaining to Islam are not allowed in the West. Yet the Muslim world turns a blind eye to Chinese persecution of Muslim Uyghurs in East Turkistan (Xinjiang) and Hui in Yunnan, China.

Trust Among NATO Members and Prevention of Conflict

Türkiye does not instill trust and has not prevented conflict, as is noted above. It is actively engaged in thwarting U.S. interests in Syria and is playing the middleman in the Ukraine-Russia war. Sanctions against Russia are being circumvented with the resulting financial windfall for Türkiye.

Summary

Türkiye does not belong in NATO. It does not meet membership values and has destabilized the alliance. Let no one forget Türkiye’s genocide against Christian Armenians and Assyrians early in the 20th century in which an estimated 1.5 million people were killed. Türkiye has continued with its genocides in Cyprus and Syria and against Kurdish peoples. (Türkiye refuses to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.)

Sweden is a Christian democracy that shares NATO’s common interests in preventing Russia from rebuilding the Soviet empire. Türkiye is an Islamic autocracy intent on building its own Islamic sultanate.

Türkiye harbors terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and assists ISIS — all against Western interests and values.

If Türkiye continues to blackball Swedish entry into NATO, then NATO should expel Türkiye from NATO.

Laurence F. Sanford is a senior analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.