The TCA team was hosting in Istanbul 9 US State Attorneys General in cooperation with the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) amidst the most active days of the demonstrations in the Taksim and Besiktas area.
The demonstrations provided a disconcerting backdrop which lent urgency to the delegation's in-depth and frank discussions with prominent Turkish columnists, professors of Turkish law faculties, as well as Turkish business leaders on subjects varying from constitutional issues, civil liberties, press freedom, comparison of legal systems between the two countries and the rule of law. The delegation continued on to Ankara to meet with President Abdullah Gul, government officials, and members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly from different parties and visited the Ulucanlar prison museum.
The NAAG delegations have been invited to visit Turkey by the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC and were hosted by TCA for two consecutive years. With this year's trip, 14 State Attorneys General participated in this program so far.
TCA strongly believes in the short and long-term value that such trips and interactions hold for the exchange of ideas among high level American and Turkish opinion leaders and policymakers about issues of importance for both Turkey and the United States, as well as for the promotion of universal human rights and freedom of speech issues.
