Telluric anger of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish president announced on Saturday that he had ordered the expulsion “as soon as possible” of ten ambassadors, including those from France, Germany and the United States. Ankara blames diplomats for calling for the release of opponent Osman Kavala. The Turkish businessman and patron has been jailed for four years without trial, accused of wanting to destabilize the country. The ambassadors in question called on October 18 for a “fair and speedy settlement of the case” Osman Kavala.
For what qualifies as interference, the ambassadors of ten countries – Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States – United – are threatened with deportation.
“I ordered our foreign minister to declare these ten ambassadors persona non grata as soon as possible,” said the head of state traveling inside the country. No date is given for the entry into force of President Erdogan’s decision. A cabinet meeting is due to be held on Monday at 12:00 GMT in Ankara, after which these expulsions could be confirmed.
These diplomats “must know and understand Turkey”, continued Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing them of “indecency”. “They will have to leave” the country “if they do not know it anymore,” he added.
The announced expulsion of the Western ambassadors led to the fall of the Turkish lira, which reached an all-time low on Monday, October 25. The national currency traded at over 9.80 pounds to the dollar before stabilizing at around 9.73 dollars after 05:00 GMT, down 1.3% against the greenback.
The Turkish lira, which had already experienced a black week marked by the placement of Ankara on the “gray list” of the Gafi (Financial action group) for its failings in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism , has lost 24% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year.
