Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, has ordered the country’s foreign ministry to begin the process of removing ten ambassadors.
Erdogan stated this at a speech to locals in Eskişehir, a city in Turkey’s northwestern region, on Saturday.
The ambassadors, according to Erdogan, “must be declared persona non grata” immediately.
The development comes only days after the Ankara embassies of Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United States of America issued a joint statement appealing for Osman Kavala’s release.
Kavala, a well-known arts activist, has spent years in prison on charges of inciting rallies against the Turkish government in 2013.
In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights urged Turkey’s authorities to release the activist “in the absence of facts, information, or evidence demonstrating that Mr Kavala was involved in criminal activity.”
The ambassadors urged Turkish authorities to uphold the rule of law and free the activist in a statement dated October 18.
“Today marks four years since the ongoing detention of Osman Kavala began. The continuing delays in his trial, including by merging different cases and creating new ones after a previous acquittal, cast a shadow over respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judiciary system,” the statement reads.
“Together, the embassies of Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America believe a just and speedy resolution to his case must be in line with Turkey’s international obligations and domestic laws. Noting the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights on the matter, we call for Turkey to secure his urgent release.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry, however, summoned the ambassadors in response to the announcement.
In his speech on Saturday, Erdogan stated that ambassadors who fail to comprehend the Turkish administrative system are not welcome in the nation.
“I gave the necessary instruction to our foreign minister and said what must be done,” he said.
“These 10 ambassadors must be declared persona non grata at once. ‘You shall sort it out immediately,’ I told him.
“They must understand and know about Turkey; the day they don’t, they will go.”
