Turkey: Opposition claims Prez Erdogan's move to expel envoys linked to domestic agenda

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to remove ambassadors of 10 countries that have called on Ankara to release human rights activist Osman Kavala is designed to justify the nation’s economic crisis, main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said on Sunday, 24 October. While taking to Twitter, Kilicdaroglu accused Erdogan of dragging Turkey into an “abyss”. He said that the President’s latest move is not to protect the national interest but to create “artificial justification” for the economy he has destroyed. 

When translated, Kilicdaroglu’s tweet read, “The person, who dragged the country into the abyss, gave the order that 10 ambassadors be declared persona non grata.”

“I can clearly say that the reason for these actions is not to protect national interests, but to create artificial justifications for the economy he has destroyed. Turn around and look at the table of the people,” it added. 

Removal of 10 foreign ambassadors

On Tuesday, the embassies of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the US made a joint appeal to release human rights activist Osman Kavala after four years under arrest. In response, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the ten envoys, and the Turkish President threatened to expel them from the country over the violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Erdogan described the joint statement by the embassies as an “imprudence” and said that he ordered the ambassadors to be declared undesirable. 

"I gave the instruction to our foreign minister and said 'You will immediately handle the persona non grata declaration of these 10 ambassadors," Erdogan said during a rally in the western city of Eskisehir.

He added, "They will recognise, understand and know Turkey. The day they don't know or understand Turkey, they will leave."

It is to mention that a declaration of persona non grata against a diplomat usually means that an individual is banned from remaining in their host country. Meanwhile, Kavala, 64, was acquitted last year of charges linked to nationwide anti-government protests in 2013, but the ruling was overturned and joined to charges relating to a 2016 coup attempt. International observers and human rights groups have repeatedly called for the release of Kavala and Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, who has been jailed since 2016. They say that their imprisonment is based on political considerations. However, Ankara denies the claims and insists on the independence of Turkish courts. 

Image: AP