[ad_1]
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on his compatriots to boycott French products.
- The appeal follows diplomatic skirmishes between Ankara and Paris, which in turn stem from an Islamist attack in Paris and reactions from French authorities.
From here I appeal to my people. Just don’t pay attention to the French brands, don’t buy them!
On Sunday, merchants from Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, among others, took French products from their branches.
Verbal exchange of blows between presidents
The Turkish president had previously accused French President Emmanuel Macron of Islamophobia. Erdogan had doubted his mental health and called Macron, among other things, a case of illness that had to be examined. Paris had called its ambassador from Ankara in protest, an incident that had never happened before, as the Elysee circles confirmed.
The background to Erdogan’s abusive behavior is the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. He had defended freedom of expression and had sided with those who want to show or publish cartoons.
New edition of the cartoon dispute
France will not “do without cartoons and drawings, even if others withdraw from them,” Macron said at a memorial service honoring the slain teacher Samuel Paty. He had shown caricatures of Muhammad in class and was beheaded on the street. Islamic tradition forbids representing the prophet.
Macron had defended his position on freedom of expression on Twitter late Sunday. Hate speech is not accepted and reasonable debate is defended. “We will always be on the side of human dignity and basic values.” Macron had also spread the message in Arabic and English.
SRF 4 News, October 26, 2020, 6:30 am .; srf / sda / dpa / bisv; thel
[ad_2]
