In Turkey, Congressman McGovern Meets with Groups Working to Address Syrian Humanitarian Crisis

ANKARA, TURKEY, July 1, 2015

ANKARA, TURKEY – Today, U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) completed a two-day visit to Turkey as part of a Congressional Delegation to the Middle East this week led by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (VA).

Yesterday, the delegation traveled to the Syrian border town of Gaziantep to meet with interim Syrian government officials and local council representatives, Syrian opposition forces, as well as independent Syrian media activists. The delegation also visited an urban refugee center that provides Syrian refugees with critical basic services and the headquarters of the Syrian American Medical Society for a roundtable with local NGOs providing humanitarian assistance, emergency response, and medical care to victims of the conflict in Syria.

In December 2013, McGovern joined U.S. Representatives Ed Royce (CA-39), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and, and Bill Keating (MA-09) in a letter to Secretary Kerry calling for U.S action to address Syria’s growing humanitarian crisis.  As of today, the U.S. has contributed more than $3 billion in humanitarian assistance to help the millions of Syrian refugees displaced by the crisis.

Following his meetings in Gaziantep, Congressman McGovern stated, “Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed by the Bashir al-Assad regime, ISIS, and countless militia groups. Millions have been internally displaced or have become refugees.

“The Syrian government continues to target civilians, using barrel bombs – which are deadly and indiscriminate,” McGovern continued. “Bashir al-Assad is a war criminal who for the sake of the Syrian people should step down immediately. Russia and Iran should join other world leaders to force Assad to leave and prevent even more bloodshed.”

“Ultimately there must be a political solution – one which allows the Syrian people to determine their own future and respects the rights of all the Syrian people. In the meantime we and other international donors must increase our humanitarian aid to the region to alleviate the enormous suffering,” McGovern concluded. “As the United States continues to confront the challenges in the region, Turkey continues to be an important ally and I am grateful to the Turkish government for their leadership in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis as well as the threat of ISIS and other extremist groups.”

Today in Ankara, the delegation met with Turkish Prime Minister Davutoğlu and Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu to discuss a wide range of topics including the strong U.S.-Turkey partnership and shared regional concerns such as Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Russia.  The delegation also discussed counter-ISIL efforts and how to better secure Turkey’s border from foreign fighters and other extremist threats. Kaine expressed his deep appreciation for the generosity of the Turkish government and people in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis and for Turkey’s ongoing military and intelligence cooperation.

The delegation also met with think tank representatives to discuss the recent election and the future of the Kurdish peace process.

Earlier this week, the delegation spent two days in Iraq focused on political reconciliation and the U.S. mission against ISIS. Other delegation members include Senator Joe Donnelly (IN), Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), Congressmen Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Brian Higgins (NY-26) and Peter Welch (VT-At-Large).

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