WASHINGTON — US House Committee on Rules has cleared Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Dave Trott’s (R-MI) Turkey sanctions amendment for vote this week by the full House of Representatives, with three more measures, presented by Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), David Cicilline (D-RI) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) set for consideration by the panel.

The Trott Amendment opposes the $1.2 million sale of US semi-automatic handguns to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail, in response to their May 16 attack on peaceful protesters in Washington, DC.

“Over the past few months, we’ve seen our NATO allies take extraordinary steps against Turkey, and it’s time for the State Department to do the same,” said Trott. “We need to block this arms sale and once and for all point a finger in Erdogan’s chest and tell him that a strategic location does not place Turkey above the law.”

Trott went on to note that, “just two months ago, Erdogan’s henchmen, with him complacently observing just feet away, launched a brutal attack on peaceful protesters exercising their first amendment rights. A notorious oppressor of basic human rights and freedom, Erdogan imported his nefarious attitudes to our nation’s capital. While Erdogan’s thugs may run unchecked in Ankara, this is the United States of America and this is totally unacceptable.”

“We are pleased to see the Trott Amendment approved for US House consideration this week and look forward to the Rules Committee providing all of their House colleagues with the opportunity for an up or down vote on additional Turkey sanctions proposed by Reps. Cicilline, Rohrabacher, and Beyer,” said Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian. ”

“Up on Capitol Hill, across the Washington, DC foreign policy community, and even among career Department of State and Pentagon officials, it’s increasingly clear that May 16th marked a watershed moment in US-Turkey relations — a defining, clarifying, deeply troubling anti-American episode that will, in the months and years to come, continue to inform key areas of engagement by US policymakers with their Turkish counterparts.”