As Turkish tanks rolls deeper into northern Syrian, some Bay Area residents have used Turkish Airlines as a proxy for the Turkish government.
Nearly 100 people showed up to the Turkish Airlines ticket counter at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) yesterday to protest Turkey’s incursion into Syria. The plan was to disrupt operations and delay or cancel the evening flight to Istanbul.
Protester Sabrina Melendez told NBC:
We don’t have a Turkish Consulate in the Bay Area, so this is the closest we could get to actually finding a way to impact Turkey.
Turkish Airlines ticketing counter at SFO is completely shut down. A real blockage of economic activity that benefits the Turkish State, and of its transportation infrastructure. #DefendRojava #Rojava #WomenDefendRojava #AllOut4Rojava pic.twitter.com/YMPpDePcKD
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) October 12, 2019
Ultimately, the protest did not delay operations. Passengers were diverted to another counter and Turkish’s flight to Istanbul departed on-time.
I wrote about the issues undergirding the protest in my recent Iraqi Kurdistan trip report. You can check that out below:
> Part I: A Day Trip To Iraq
> Part II: Exploring Erbil, The Capital Of Iraqi Kurdistan
> Part III: Heartfelt Conversations With Iraqi Kurds
CONCLUSION
Turkey owns a 49% stake in Turkish Airlines and without a consulate in San Francisco, perhaps the TK ticket counter at SFO was the most appropriate venue. But while I am fully sympathetic to the cause of the protestors, I don’t know that blocking travelers from checking in for their flight is the best way to raise awareness. Hopefully, those in Washington who can make a real difference will not wait until is too late…
image: Twitter / Occupy Oakland
Democrats do virtue signaling. And are a bunch of idiots. They kicked out Al Franken but are powerless to do anything to Trump. They gave a hard time to kathy Griffin for holding trump’s head on stage but now we find there was video of violence against journalists shown at trump rallies. Are the liberals doing anything about it? Now they are protesting in front of turkish airlines. They should be protesting in front of the trump stooges Lindsey Graham and Moscow mitch. Liberals are bloody idiots and spineless. They only shout at people that will listen to them.
Dear lord Debit you sure did criss-cross across this post more than Captain Janeway criss-crossed across the galaxy on her voyage home. First, Trump is currently under an impeachment-lead investigation. Following the letter of the law is critical in this instance and it takes time. Second, the doctored video of Trump came out yesterday so why don’t you give people a couple of hours to reply. Finally, Moscow Mitch and Lindsey Graham have been receiving considerable attention and protest via the communication lines into their offices. Additionally people are protesting their actions at The Capitol in DC almost every day.
Debit is even more desperate for attention than usual.
Wait…. You are protesting the Turkish Airlines for action of Turkish goverment? What next? Gonna held protest in asian market for support of Hong Kong? Is american people really that stupid?
No, but you must be if that is the best you can come up with…
The Turkish govt owns 49% of Turkish Airlines. Unless the Chinese government owns the Asian market people protest in, it’s a really bad example.
Last I check, a company is different entity from the shareholders. Thus, SOE is not the incumbent government.
If american didn’t understand the difference in the abovementioned, its suffice to say that they also assumed all chinese looking human as asians. They cannot tell difference between chinese, japanese, vietnamese. They even called black people as african-american, forgetting that their brother in nation resides in 50th state also have high pigment in their skin.
Nice try to look smart aaron. But you’re not as smart as you thought you were. Far from it.
Nice try to not have people think you aren’t Debit posting under a different name. Also, keep changing the argument when you realize your original point made no sense.
Again, comparing a airline partially owned by a government with a park is just…nonsense. Nice try though.
Running out thoughts to argue or simply couldn’t catch? Shame. You talk big, but all si bark and no bite.
Well, you didn’t much to argue against, what with your weak example…
Exactly James, this is what I say too ! Blaming an airline for a government’s actions is just stupid.
“I don’t know that blocking travelers from checking in for their flight is the best way to raise awareness”
It gets on the news, which gets the story even more exposure, which raises more awareness for the issue…hey, it worked here…
Good. Target them in this way: hurts them economically, although maybe Erdogan doesn’t care as it’s quite apparent that he’s comfortable turning Turkey into a pariah state ( with or without the involvement of the bloated horror in DC)
Where was the “outrage” and the protest with Syria for three and a half years.
100k died while we sat on the sidelines dragged our feet and the ever moving “red line”
Funny I see the EU also on the sidelines and not saying we will send troops – which long ago returned home after fighting and giving token support to fighting ISIS.
I see the EU scolding Turkey and pausing VW investment to build Passat in country. As well as other financial moves.
I visited Turkey as a tourist about 12 years ago and it has changed tremendously and become more repressive. Wonderful people, wonderful country – but has done a 180 as a moderate Muslim country that was at one time an ally and a friend of NATO and the US.
I’m conflicted between pulling out and potentially starting another war but this time with a ally/frenenemy. A country that we have bases, troops and out Nukes stored.
I think its an untenable situation with no clear cut boundaries or solutions. We’re damned if we do damned if we don’t.
AFAIK we have no formal government level agreements with the Kurds or treaties ( and the Kurds situation is not new – but they are still humans) going to war with Turkey is Pandora’s box and could result in a full blown war with Russia, Turkey and NATO and the US with massive civilian deaths far more than Syria.
May Allah protect all muslims and all turkish soldier. May Allah give him the power to kill all terrorist. May Allah protect us from western hatred. May Allah show the world all their twice faces. May execrate all liar about The Prophets and all muslims.
Turkish Airlines is flying higher and higher and is now one if the world’s biggest airlines. Whatever next, boycott US airlines over the US military’s atrocious conduct, American human rights abuses and the madness of the Trump administration ?
The protesters have the right to peaceful assembly, but blocking lines at an airport can and should get them arrested. Disrupting functioning at an airport cannot be legal.
I am also curious how many of these protesters are affiliated or overtly sympathetic to the YPG, which has been accused of war crimes against non ethnic Kurds in Northern Syria, including the destruction of civilian property and the forced recruitment of minors against their will by US armed and US financed Kurdish militias.
Why are these protesters not protesting against Trump sending US troops to Syria, a country which never invited them ?