Turkic American Conventions:
US politicians attending
Page created April 27, 2014
Starting in 2010, when the Gulen Movement's umbrella organization in the US, the Turkic American Alliance, was formed, there have been annual conventions almost every spring. There was no convention in the year 2012, for reasons that are unknown.
It is not difficult to guess why so many US Congressmen, Senators, or other public officials attend these events; the list of attendees shows a strong cross-correlation with lists of politicians that have received generous campaign contributions from Gulenists, or participated in subsidized Gulenist Turkey trips.
Attendance at these events is not a neutral gesture; it is seen as an endorsement of the extremely controversial Gulen Movement, which is presently involved in a bitter and intense feud with its former ally the Prime Minister of Turkey and his ruling party. This conflict has affected Turkey's economy, shaken its government's stability, and caused more bitter divisions in Turkish society. Neither the Gulen Movement nor its prime lobbying organization the Turkic American Alliance represent the nation of Turkey, and indeed a Today's Zaman article of April 10, 2014 noted that "Not one Turkish official or diplomat attended the event," referring to the 2014 "Fourth Annual" Turkic American Convention. Should US politicians be taking sides in this strange civil war, in which the principle weapons appear to be illegally wiretapped conversations of high-level government officials? Here in the US, the Gulen Movement continues to deceptively and secretly run charter schools and "academic" competitions for its own benefit, and engages in collusion, deception, cyber-attacks, and other unsavory activities. According to the Twitter stream of the 2014 Turkic American Convention, one US representative said in his speech:
"You have made America a better place" -- Congressman Gregory Meeks
As some elected officials continue to endorse the Gulen Movement, despite the massive amount of information now available on this mafia-like organization's questionable practices (start reading here), we say to them: "It's on your conscience."
2014 Convention "Fourth Annual"
Dates: April 8-9, 2014
Venues: Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium; Willard InterContinental Hotel, Washington DC
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley issued a Proclamation declaring April 8th and 9th, 2014 the "Turkic American Alliance - 4th Annual Turkic American Convention Days."
The convention Twitter account claimed that "43 Members of Congress" attended; not all have yet been identified.
Dates: April 8-9, 2014
Venues: Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium; Willard InterContinental Hotel, Washington DC
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley issued a Proclamation declaring April 8th and 9th, 2014 the "Turkic American Alliance - 4th Annual Turkic American Convention Days."
The convention Twitter account claimed that "43 Members of Congress" attended; not all have yet been identified.
US Senators and Congressmen known to have attended (list is not complete)
1. Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana (D)
2. Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey (D)
3. Congressman Robert Aderholt of Alabama (R)
4. Congresswoman Julia Brownley of California (D)
5. Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio (R)
6. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke of New York (D)
7. Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia (R)
8. Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas (D)
9. Congressman Danny Davis of Illinois (D)
10. Congressman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania (D)
11. Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania (R)
12. Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand of New York (D)
13. Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida (D)
14. Congressman Al Green of Texas (D)
15. Congressman Andy Harris of Maryland (R)
16. Congressman Jim Himes (D)
17. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas (D)
18. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York (D)
19. Congresswoman Robin Kelly of Illinois (D)
20. Leonard Lance of New Jersey (R)
21. Congressman Dan Lipinski of Illinois (D)
22. Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York (D)
23. Congresswoman Grace Meng of New York (D)
24. Congressman Pete Olson of Texas (R)
25. Congressman Bill Pascrell of New Jersey (D)
26. Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania (R)
27. Congressman Ted Poe of Texas (R)
28. Congresswoman Dana Rohrabacher of California (D)
29. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida (R)
30. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of California (D)
31. Congressman Brad Schneider of Illinois (D)
32. Congressman Steve Stivers of Ohio (R)
33. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida (D)
34. Congreswoman Maxine Waters of California (D)
35. Congressman Don Young of Alaska (R)
Other public officials known to have attended: (list may not be complete)
"Sponsors" / "Hosts"
1. Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana (D)
2. Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey (D)
3. Congressman Robert Aderholt of Alabama (R)
4. Congresswoman Julia Brownley of California (D)
5. Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio (R)
6. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke of New York (D)
7. Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia (R)
8. Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas (D)
9. Congressman Danny Davis of Illinois (D)
10. Congressman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania (D)
11. Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania (R)
12. Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand of New York (D)
13. Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida (D)
14. Congressman Al Green of Texas (D)
15. Congressman Andy Harris of Maryland (R)
16. Congressman Jim Himes (D)
17. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas (D)
18. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York (D)
19. Congresswoman Robin Kelly of Illinois (D)
20. Leonard Lance of New Jersey (R)
21. Congressman Dan Lipinski of Illinois (D)
22. Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York (D)
23. Congresswoman Grace Meng of New York (D)
24. Congressman Pete Olson of Texas (R)
25. Congressman Bill Pascrell of New Jersey (D)
26. Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania (R)
27. Congressman Ted Poe of Texas (R)
28. Congresswoman Dana Rohrabacher of California (D)
29. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida (R)
30. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of California (D)
31. Congressman Brad Schneider of Illinois (D)
32. Congressman Steve Stivers of Ohio (R)
33. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida (D)
34. Congreswoman Maxine Waters of California (D)
35. Congressman Don Young of Alaska (R)
Other public officials known to have attended: (list may not be complete)
- Maryland Secretary of State John P. McDonough
- Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East Andrea Lockwood
- Christopher Gahan, Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania (R)
- Stanley White, Chief of Staff for Congressman
Robert Brady of Pennsylvania (D)
- Alison Starling of ABC News
- Gwen Tolbart of Fox News DC
- Serdar Yesilyurt, TUSKON EU
- Faruk Taban, TAA President
- Rizanur Meral, TUSKON President
- Hakan Sukur, former MP Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Turkey (known as open follower of Gulen)
- Deputy Muslim Sari, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Turkey
- Deputy Sedef Kucuk, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Turkey
- Deputy Engin Ozkoc, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Turkey
- Ihsan Dagı, Today’s Zaman columnist
- Ihsan Yilmaz, Today’s Zaman columnist, Associate Professor, Fatih University
- Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Professor of Economics, University of Maryland
"Sponsors" / "Hosts"
- Today's Zaman
- Turkish Review
- Azerbaijan's Ipek Yolu (Silk Road) Association
- TUSKON (Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and IndustrialistsRethink Institute)
- Turkish American Chamber of Commerce (TACC)
2013 Convention "Third annual"
Dates: Mar 12-13, 2013
Venue: Washington DC
The TAA claims there were "more than 1000 participants," with "50 US senators and representatives," "20 Turkic parliamentarians," and "25 ambassadors."
US politicians known to have attended (this list is not complete):
Other known attendees:
Dates: Mar 12-13, 2013
Venue: Washington DC
The TAA claims there were "more than 1000 participants," with "50 US senators and representatives," "20 Turkic parliamentarians," and "25 ambassadors."
US politicians known to have attended (this list is not complete):
- Senator Chris Murphy (CT)
- Senator Mark Pryor (AR)
- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) (spoke of visiting Istanbul, almost certainly a reference to Gulenist trip)
- Congressman Daniel Maffei (NY)
- Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ)
- Congressman Mark Meadows (SC)
- Congressman Paul Tonko (NY)
- Congressman Alan Grayson (FL) (mentioned trip with family to Azerbaijan, a reference to Gulenist trip)
- Congressman Mo Brooks (AL)
- Congressman Jim Moran (VA)
- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX)
- Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) (repeated misleading claim that Turkey has "a GDP that has TRIPLED since 2001")
- Robert O. Blake Jr., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, US State Department
Other known attendees:
- Elin Suleymanov Ambassador of Azerbaijan to US
- Asim Mollazade, Member of Parliament, Azerbaijan
- Muktar Djumaliev, Ambassafor of Kyrgyzstan to US
- Namik Tan, Ambassador of Turkey to US
2011 Convention "Second Annual"
US politicians known to have attended (this list may not be complete)
Other known attendees:
US politicians known to have attended (this list may not be complete)
- Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania (D)
- Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey (D)
- Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi (R)
- Senator Daniel Coats of Indiana (R)
- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
- Congressman Russ Carnahan of Missouri (D)
- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas (D)
- Congresswoman Virginia Foxx of North Carolina (R)
- Congressman Robert Turner of New York (R)
- Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas (D)
- Congressman Daniel Lipinski of Illinois D
- Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of California (D)
- Congressman Joe Donnolly of Indiana (D)
- Congressman Leonard Lance of New Jersey (R)
-
Congressman Gene Green of Texas (D)
- Congressman Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania (R)
- Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York (D)
- Congressman Steve Stivers of Ohio (R)
- Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California (R)
- Congressman Bob Filner of California (D)
- Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington (D)
- Congressman David Price of North Carolina (D)
- Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania (R)
- Congressman John Sullivan of Oklahoma (R)
- Congresswoman Kathy Hochul of New York (D)
- Congressman André Carson of Indiana (D)
- Congressman Louie Gohmert of Texas (R)
- Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D)
- Congressman Francisco Canseco of Texas (R)
- Congressman Bill Cassidy of Louisiana (R)
- Congressman Silvestre Reyes of Texas (D)
- Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr of New Jersey (D)
- Congressman John Conyers, Jr. of Michigan (D)
- Congressman Al Green of Texas (D)
- Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio (R)
- Congressman Todd Rokita of Indiana (R)
- Congressman Peter King of New York (R)
- Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia (D)
- Congressman Todd Young of Indiana (R)
- Congresswoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen of Florida
Other known attendees:
- Dr Faruk Taban, President of Turkic American Alliance
- Hon. Mehmet Simsek, Finance Minister of Turkey
- Deputy Minister Davut Kavranoglu of Turkey
- Ahmet Ciger, Vice President of TUSKON
- Jena Luedtke of Rumi Forum
- Alison Starling from ABC7 News
- Scott Thuman from ABC7 News
2010 Convention "First Annual"
Date: May 12, 2010
Venue: Willard InterContinental Hotel, Washington DC
Attended by seven US senators and 53 US Representatives
Date: May 12, 2010
Venue: Willard InterContinental Hotel, Washington DC
Attended by seven US senators and 53 US Representatives
US politicians known to have attended (this list is not complete)
- Senator Richard Lugar
- Senator Robert Casey
- Senator Frank Lautenberg
- Senator Jeff Bingaman
- Senator Roger Wicker
- Senator Mark Warner
- Senator Kay Hagen