Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday announced plans to expel 10 Western ambassadors for demanding the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala.
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the Turkish president's move targets the ambassadors of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand and the United States.
Seven of the ambassadors represent Turkey's NATO allies and the expulsions, if carried out, would open the deepest rift with the West in Erdogan's 19 years in power.
Kavala, a contributor to numerous civil society groups, has been in prison for four years, charged with financing nationwide protests in 2013 and with involvement in a failed coup in 2016. He has remained in detention while his latest trial continues, and denies the charges.
In a joint statement on Oct. 18, the ambassadors slated to be expelled called for a just and speedy resolution to Kavala's case, and for his "urgent release". They were subsequently reprimanded by Ankara's Foreign Ministry, which called the move "irresponsible."
"I gave the necessary order to our foreign minister and said what must be done: These 10 ambassadors must be declared persona non grata at once. You will sort it out immediately," Erdogan said in a speech in the northwestern city of Eskisehir.
"They will know and understand Turkey. The day they do not know and understand Turkey, they will leave," he said.
The US and French embassies and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The US State Department was said to be "seeking clarifications" from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
One diplomatic source said de-escalation of what could be a sweeping diplomatic fallout for Turkey was possible.
"No instructions have been given to embassies," the source said, adding that it was possible a decision may be taken at Turkey's cabinet meeting on Monday.
'We will not be intimidated'
European Parliament President David Sassoli slammed the decision, tweeting, "The expulsion of ten ambassadors is a sign of the authoritarian drift of the Turkish government. We will not be intimidated."
German lawmaker Claudia Roth said Saturday that Erdogan's "authoritarian course must be confronted internationally," and Ankara should be sanctioned if the envoys are indeed deported.
Erdogan's actions against his critics are becoming "increasingly uninhibited," Roth, vice president of Bundestag – the German federal parliament – told German news agency DPA.
Norway said its embassy had not received any notification from Turkish authorities, stressing that "Our ambassador has not done anything that warrants an expulsion."
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Trude Maaseide noted that Norway "will continue to call on Turkey to comply with democratic standards and the rule of law to which the country committed itself under the European Human Rights Convention."
New Zealand's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it would not comment until it hears "anything formally through official channels," adding that New Zealand "values its relationship with Turkey."
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said he has not received any official notification on the matter.
"We will continue to guard our common values and principles, as also expressed in the joint declaration," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Opposition parties in Turkey are pressing forward with an effort to join forces to replace Erdogan.
"The leaders of six opposition parties appear to have agreed on turning the next election into a kind of referendum on the presidential system that Erdogan introduced four years ago and considers one of his proudest achievements," the New York Times reported on Saturday.
Arab media has reported at length on the fact that Erdogan has been steadily sliding in the opinion polls, as the Turkish public struggles with an economic crisis and is no longer willing to tolerate the rampant government corruption.
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