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Ten ambassadors threatened with expulsion: Erdogan snubbed NATO partners in the dispute over human rights activists – politics

Relations between Germany and Turkey are facing another stress test. In the dispute over the imprisoned Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday evening that the German ambassador, the US ambassador and eight other ambassadors would be undesirable.

He had instructed the Foreign Ministry to do so, Erdogan said during a visit to Eskisehir. “I said, see to it that these ten ambassadors are declared to be“ persona non grata ”as soon as possible”. Such a step usually leads to the expulsion of the diplomats. Erdogan did not name a deadline. Erdogan accused the ten ambassadors of “indecency”. “You have to get to know Turkey and learn to understand it,” said the Turkish President. “You have to get out of here if you don’t understand Turkey.” He didn’t give a deadline.

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From circles of the Foreign Office in Berlin it was said: “We have taken note of the statements made by Turkish President Erdogan and the reports on it and are currently in intensive consultation with the nine other countries concerned.” In addition to Germany and the USA, France is also affected. Canada, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.

The US State Department sought clarification. “The reports are known to us and we are now looking for clarity from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey,” said a spokesman for the State Department on Saturday evening. Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands said they had not received any official notification from Turkey. “Our ambassador did nothing to justify deportation,” said a spokeswoman for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

Kavala has been in custody in Istanbul since 2017

The background to Erdogan’s statements is a statement by the ambassadors at the beginning of the week, in which they called for the release of the Turkish entrepreneur and culture promoter Osman Kavala. The 64-year-old has been in custody in Istanbul since 2017, although the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered his release in 2019. Turkey has so far ignored the ruling.

The Turkish philanthropist Osman KavalaPhoto: AFP/Anadolu Culture Center

Kavala is accused of an attempted coup in connection with the Gezi protests of 2013, which were critical of the government, as well as “political and military espionage” in connection with the attempted coup in 2016. Trials against him and more than 50 other defendants are pending in Istanbul and will continue at the end of November. His supporters see the allegations as politically motivated. Kavala is known in Turkey for his commitment to civil society, he supports numerous projects with his organization Anadolu Kültür.

[Lesen Sie hier bei T+: Staatskidnapper aus Ankara – Erdogans langer Arm]

The Kavala crisis is likely to put a heavy strain on relations between NATO partner Turkey and the EU and the USA. Germany and Turkey have actually come closer again after the imprisonment of German citizens in 2017 led to a deep rift in bilateral relations. Just last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized the importance of German-Turkish relations during her farewell visit to Erdogan.

Röttgen: “Incredible foreign policy escalation”

German politicians sharply condemned the Turkish approach on Saturday evening. Bundestag Vice President Claudia Roth (Greens) called for sanctions: “Erdogan’s unscrupulous actions against his critics are increasingly being disinhibited,” said Roth of the German press agency. One must “face Erdogan’s authoritarian course internationally”, impose sanctions and stop arms exports to Turkey.

The Green politician Cem Özdemir called on the states concerned to respond jointly to Erdogan’s “provocation”. The message must be: “We are able to withstand the pressure. Democracy and human rights are non-negotiable for us.”

The FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff wrote on Twitter that a possible expulsion of ten ambassadors “would be unwise, undiplomatic and would weaken the cohesion of the alliance.” Erdogan could not be interested in that. The CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen spoke of an “unbelievable escalation in foreign policy” to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Erdogan “is thus leading his country further in a comprehensive turn away from Europe and the West”. The Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu also sharply criticized Erdogan’s statements. Erdogan did not want to represent national interests with the move, but to distract from the desolate economic situation, he wrote on Twitter. (dpa)

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