“The Ambassadors Crisis”… The Turkish Opposition Warns Of The “Egypt Scenario”

The repercussions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threat to expel the ambassadors of 10 countries for demanding the release of a human rights activist continue in Turkey and abroad.

During the past few days, Erdogan threatened more than once, most recently on Saturday, the ambassadors of 10 foreign countries in Turkey, with expulsion; Earlier, in a joint statement issued by them, their government demanded the release of businessman and human rights activist Osman Kavala.

In the context of the continuous reactions internally and externally, the former Turkish Foreign Minister, Yasar Yakis, considered expelling the ambassador of a country, or declaring him persona non grata, “a step that precedes the declaration of war.”

This came in statements made by the former minister to the opposition newspaper, Cumhuriyet, followed by Al-Ain News, on Sunday.

In his statements, Yakis warned that the 10 countries that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to cut diplomatic relations with would take measures against Ankara and repeat his country’s current crisis with Egypt.

He added, “We cut diplomatic relations with Egypt and withdrew ambassadors, and now we are begging Cairo to normalize relations again. We now face the risk of falling into the same crisis with the 10 countries that threaten to expel their representatives from our country. There is a possibility that Turkey will lose in this conflict.”

Yakis continued, stressing that “what Erdogan said should not be said at the presidential level.”

Erdogan is a street bully

In the same context, Turkish journalist Levent Gultekin confirmed that Erdogan “is the one who ordered Osman Kavala to be kept in prison.”

He added in press statements, criticizing the decision to expel the ambassadors, addressing Erdogan, “Are you the president of a republic or a bully in the street… Even if this is a banana republic, you should pay attention to your words.”

He continued, “Erdogan and his ally (the head of the Nationalist Movement Party) Devlet Bahçe Li. They said that Kavala cannot be released. Are you the judge? By what right can you pronounce a sentence on a person in a sentence? What independent judiciary are you talking about?! This is beyond an issue.” Moral”.

“I’m ashamed that this is my boss, a street bully doesn’t speak that dialect, be a little respectful, learn to use a little diplomacy, I’m ashamed to be represented by a man like that,” Gultekin continued.

In the same context, the Turkish version of the German “Deutsche Welle” network revealed that diplomats in the Turkish Foreign Ministry are trying to persuade Erdogan to back down from declaring the ambassadors of 10 countries persona non grata.

provocative threat

On Saturday, Erdogan said, as he was about to attack the ambassadors of 10 countries, including the United States, Germany and the Netherlands: “They go to bed and wake up saying Kavala Kavala, 10 ambassadors come for him to the Foreign Ministry.”

Erdogan directed his speech to the ambassadors, saying: “I gave instructions to my foreign minister and told him what to do. He will deal with you as persona non grata as soon as possible.”

In a joint statement issued by the embassies of Germany, the United States, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Norway and New Zealand, 10 ambassadors called for the release of businessman Osman Kavala.

The ambassadors of those countries said, in their statement, that “the continued postponement of Kavala’s trial by adding different files and creating new cases after the verdict of acquittal casts a shadow over the respect for democracy, the rule of law and the principles of transparency in the Turkish judicial system, knowing that 4 years have passed since his arrest.”

“We believe that this issue should be resolved fairly and quickly, in line with Turkey’s international obligations and national laws,” they added.