Recep Tayyip Erdogan is persecuting the ambassadors of 10 Western allies in an attempt to divert attention from Turkey’s economic difficulties. This was announced by the political opponents of the Turkish president, quoted by Reuters. The diplomatic crisis coincides with concerns of investors for the fall of the Turkish lira to a record low.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition party, said Erdogan was “quickly pushing the country to the brink”. “The reason for these steps is not to protect national interests, but to create artificial reasons for the destruction of the economy,” he wrote on Twitter.
“We have seen this film before,” said IYI deputy leader Yavuz Agiralioglu. “Return immediately to our real agenda and the country’s main problem – the economic crisis.”
We recall that Erdogan announced yesterday that has instructed the foreign ministry to declare the ambassadors of 10 countries persona non grata, who made a statement in connection with the trial of human rights activist Osman Kavala. The Turkish president on Thursday criticized the ambassadors of the United States, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Norway and New Zealand, insisting that they had interfered in the country’s lawsuits. According to the Anatolian Agency, they were summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Erdogan erupted against 10 Western ambassadors, threatening to expel them
“Who do you think you are?”
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Kavala, accused by Turkish authorities of participating in the 2016 coup attempt, was detained on October 18, 2017 at Istanbul airport. On November 1 of that year, the court ruled that his detention was “an attempt to change the constitutional order and overthrow the current government.” Turkish authorities also claim that Kavala funded the protests that took place in 2013.
In February 2020, a court in Istanbul decided to acquit and release the activist, but later that day, prosecutors again sanctioned his detention.
