FRANCE Withdraws Ambassador From TURKEY After Erdogan Questions Macron’s Mental State
(credit: Wikipedia) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey
DIPLOMATIC TIMES STAFF
France has recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insulted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron suggesting he needs a “mental check”. President Erdoğan on Monday called on Turks to boycott French goods as he continued sharp criticism of French leader Emmanuel Macron over his attitude towards Muslims. President Macron reportedly pledged to defend secular values and fight radical Islam and supported Muhammad caricatures. Tensions between the state and France’s Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in Europe, have deepened after the horrific beheading of a teacher October 16. The suspect apparently committed the barbaric act in retribution for the showing of his students cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Depictions of the Muhammad can cause serious offence to Muslims because Islamic tradition explicitly forbids images of Muhammad and Allah.
“As it has been said in France, ‘don’t buy Turkish-labelled goods,’ I call on my people here. Never give credit to French-labelled goods, don’t buy them,”
-Erdoğan said during a televised speech.
President Erdogan’s comments are unacceptable: France
“In the absence of any official token of condemnation or solidarity from the Turkish authorities after the terrorist attack in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, now come hateful and slanderous propaganda against France in recent days, expressing a will to stir hatred against us and in our midst, as well as direct insults against the President of the French Republic, expressed from the highest level of the Turkish State. This conduct is unacceptable, especially from an allied nation. The French Ambassador to Turkey has been recalled and is returning to France this Sunday 25 October 2020 for consultations.”
-Jean-Yves Le Drain , Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs
— Jean-Yves Le Drian (@JY_LeDrian) October 25, 2020
Erdoğan also addressed the European Union and said that the body speaks up on every issue related to Turkey, and it cannot stay silent in the face of Islamophobia.
