'They Can't Take Our People' -President Trump Gives Turkey Ultimatum on Imprisoned U.S. Pastor

Josh Shepherd : Aug 24, 2018
The Stream

Christian pastor and American citizen Andrew Brunson has now been held in Turkey for over 20 months. "We are not going to take it sitting down," said President Trump on Friday.

[Stream.org] On Friday, President Donald Trump addressed the plight of American pastor Andrew Brunson who has been detained in Turkey for nearly two years. "Turkey has, in my opinion, acted very, very badly," he told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. "They have a wonderful Christian [man], Pastor Brunson. They should have given him back a long time ago." (Photo: President Donald Trump, accompanied by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed reporters in the White House on May 16, 2017/Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci/via The Stream)

The statement comes as part of an escalating, months-long war of words between the two nations. Recent U.S. sanctions imposed on Turkey have added to an economic crisis for the world's 17th largest economy. "Failure to reverse this trend of unilateralism and disrespect will require us to start looking for new friends and allies," said Turkish President Recep Erdogan in a New York Times op-ed last week.

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"Turkey has been a problem for a long time... we are not going to take it sitting down. They can't take our people" the president told reporters of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who Turkey accuses of espionage."

Trump has not been deterred. "They made up this phony charge that he's a spy, and he's not a spy," said Trump on Friday, referring to Brunson. "Turkey has been a problem for a long time. They have not acted as a friend. We are not going to take it sitting down. They can't take our people. So you will see what happens."

The veiled threat reveals how suddenly and significantly the relationship between the U.S. and Turkey has deteriorated. The liberty and well-being of a pastor hangs in the balance.

Two Men On a Collision Course in Turkey

The son of missionary parents, Andrew Brunson was born in South Carolina. He graduated from prominent Christian school Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. His home church, Christ Community Church in Montreat, North Carolina has helped sponsor him for decades.

Brunson has lived in Turkey since 1995 with his wife Norine and their three children. He has served as pastor of Izmir Resurrection Church in the nation's third-largest city. Though recognized as 98 percent Muslim, Turkey's constitution has long upheld religious liberty.

Emerging parallel to Brunson's ministry during the 1990's, a Turkish leader had designs on resurrecting the Ottoman Empire. He was Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pronounced "air-doh-wan"), then the Mayor of Istanbul. "Democracy is like a streetcar," he said in 1997. "When you come to your stop, you get off."

Author and Middle East expert Joel Richardson has traveled often in and around Turkey. "Erdogan has been projecting his intentions for a long time," says Richardson. "Now that game plan has come to pass. The treatment of Pastor Brunson is a symptom of their hyper-nationalist anti-Western culture, driven by conspiracy theories."

Following a decade as Prime Minister of Turkey, Erdogan was elected as the nation's president in 2014. He signaled his intentions to re-establish a form of Islamist rule. Months into the new regime, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threatened those two nations bordering Turkey. The Obama administration accused Erdogan of aiding the terrorists. Yet Vice President Joe Biden later apologized, despite the evidence.

Erdogan's strongest actions would begin in summer 2016. His regime began to silence opposing voices.

Purging Kurds, Christians and Other Dissenters

Leaders concerned about Erdogan's Islamist intentions planned to retake the government with democratic aims. On July 15, 2016, their attempt failed... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here.

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