The 10 ambassadors not invited to Republic Day ceremony at Presidency

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received the greetings and congratulations at the Presidential complex in Ankara on the occasion of October 29 Republic Day.

The ambassadors of 10 countries, including those of the US, Germany, France and Canada, who had made a call for jailed businessperson Osman Kavala's release were not invited to the ceremony. The ambassadors had been reportedly informed that they would not be invited.

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As reported by Gazete Duvar, Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop, Parliamentary Deputy Speakers, Vice President Fuat Oktay, Presidential cabinet members expressed their greetings first.

Who are the 10 ambassadors? Of which countries?

The following 10 ambassadors who made a call for jailed businessperson Osman Kavala's release in a statement on October 18 were reportedly not invited to the ceremony at the Presidential complex: David M. Satterfield – Unites States of America (USA), Jürgen Schulz – Germany, Herve Magro – France, Merjanne de Kwaasteniet – Netherlands, Erling Skjonsberg – Norway, Wendy Hinton – New Zealand, Jamal Khokhar – Canada, Ari Maki – Philippines, Danny Annan – Denmark, Staffan Herrström – Sweden.

As reported by ANKA news agency, these countries were not represented at any level at the ceremony. The ceremony was also not attended by President of Religious Affairs Ali Erbaş, according to reports.

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What happened?

October 18, 2021 marked the fourth year since the businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala was detained in Turkey.

On this occasion, the embassies of 10 countries released a written statement calling for his release by specifically referring to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings about his case.

Shortly after this statement was shared with the public, some ministers and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) politicians denounced it. The state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) also reported that the ambassadors of the 10 countries had been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey over their statement calling for Osman Kavala's release.

President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also slammed the ambassadors of 10 countries, including the US, Germany and France, who had called for the release of Osman Kavala.

"Why do these 10 ambassadors make this statement? Those who defend this leftover of [George] Soros are striving to get him released," Erdoğan said upon his visit from Africa and briefly added: " "I told our foreign minister that we can't have the luxury to host those in our country. [...] Is it your place to teach lessons to Turkey? Who are you?"

"The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) gave a decision. They want to convict Turkey regarding this Soros leftover," Erdoğan remarked. "Do you release bandits, killers or terrorists in your country?"

In response to these remarks, Osman Kavala sent a message from prison and briefly said, "Under these circumstances, as there has remained no possibility for a fair trial, I believe that my participation in the hearings and presenting a defense would now be meaningless."

In another speech on October 23, Erdoğan said that "he had ordered 10 ambassadors to be declared persona non grata."

"I gave the necessary instructions to our minister of foreign affairs. I told him what to do. I said that you will deal with these 10 ambassadors being declared persona non grata as soon as possible," Erdoğan said.

President and AKP Chair Erdoğan added that "the ambassadors should leave the country if they do not understand Turkey."

After Erdoğan announced that 10 ambassadors who called for Osman Kavala's release would be declared "personae non gratae" in Turkey, a new development occurred on October 25.

The US Embassy in Turkey posted a brief message on its Twitter account, saying in Turkish and English: "In response to questions regarding the Statement of October 18, the United States notes that it maintains compliance with Article 41 of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."

"Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State," the Article 41/1 of the Convention says.

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(RT/SD)