Slamming several countries for shutting down their consulates in Istanbul, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu Thursday told reporters that it amounted to “psychological warfare” against Türkiye.
The German and the Dutch Consulates in Istanbul had decided to stay shut on Wednesday due to what they described as “security threats.” “The German Consulate General is closed today Feb. 1, for security reasons. Appointments for visa and passport matters are canceled. Thank you for your understanding,” the consulate announced via Instagram early in the morning.
The Dutch Consulate General in the Beyoğlu district also announced its closure for visitors on Wednesday due to “potential protests” and “increasing threat against Western targets.” The United Kingdom, in the meantime, has renewed its travel advisory to its citizens in Türkiye, joining the United States and several other European countries warning their citizens over "security threats."
On Thursday, five consulates, including German, French, Dutch, Belgian and United Kingdom consulates were closed. There was an armored police car parked outside the German consulate. In a statement, the French consulate cited a "high risk of terror attacks" in its travel advisory to French expats and visitors to Türkiye, urging them to avoid venues popular among tourists. Turkish media outlets also reported that Pierre Loti French High School in Istanbul would be closed on Thursday and Friday, reporting a message to students' parents citing "reasons related to security." The Belgian Consulate will also remain closed on Friday while it is unclear whether the British Consulate will reopen on Friday.
Addressing an event in Ankara, Soylu said the countries of the closed consulates were trying to wreck Türkiye's tourism, saying it was part of a Western plot to harm a rebound in his country's tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic. “On a day when we declared our aim of (attracting) 60 million tourists, at a time when 50.5 million tourists arrived and we obtained $46 billion in tourism revenue, they were on the verge of starting a new psychological warfare (against) Turkey,” the minister lashed out, referring to an event in Istanbul by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism where the country's tourism revenues and goals were announced.
The minister dismissed their claim of "security threats," citing Türkiye's successful counterterrorism operations. He said between the start of January and Thursday alone, Türkiye carried out as many as 60 operations against Daesh and detained 95 people. Last year, close to 2,000 Daesh suspects were detained in more than 1,000 operations against the group, he highlighted. Earlier this week, the Interior Ministry said Turkish authorities had detained a number of suspects following a warning from a “friendly country,” but hadn't found any weapons, ammunition, or sign of a planned act of violence.
Soylu lamented that ambassadors of several countries have long been part of "operations" against Türkiye, referring to a joint declaration in 2021 by ambassadors of Western countries that called a Turkish court to release Osman Kavala, a prominent suspect accused of inciting the 2013 Gezi Park riots. "They aimed to destabilize Türkiye back then and their goal was no different than the terrorist attack in Istiklal Street," he said.
In November, six people were killed and several others were wounded in a bombing on Istanbul's bustling Istiklal Street in the heart of the city. An investigation led to the capture of suspects, including the woman who planted the bomb, all affiliated with the YPG/PKK. Several consulates, including the German Consulate, are either located on Istiklal Street or situated just a few hundred meters away from this main tourist attraction. He said "one embassy" urged other diplomatic missions to shut down their consulates, though he did not name any country.
The minister who summed up the counterterrorism operations said European countries shutting down their consulates should answer the question of how they fought against Daesh. "In the past five years, we sent back 1,126 Daesh members back to their countries in Europe after their capture. I wonder what their countries did about them," the minister raised questions.
Closures and travel warnings by Western countries to Türkiye also followed protests over two cases of Quran burning by far-right politicians in Sweden and Denmark last week, which drew global backlash and condemnations from the Arab and Muslim world, with leaders and officials slamming Swedish and Danish authorities for allowing such public displays of Islamophobia.
Protests erupted worldwide and in Türkiye where crowds gathered before Sweden’s Consulate General in Istanbul to denounce the desecration of the Quran. Earlier, the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish foreign ministries issued a travel advisory, calling on their citizens to avoid large gatherings in Türkiye amid ongoing tensions. Several embassies in Ankara including those of the U.S., Germany, France and Italy have released security alerts for their citizens in Türkiye that flagged "possible retaliatory attacks by terrorists against places of worship."
In response, Türkiye issued its travel warning for Turkish nationals visiting European countries, urging caution against “the dangerous surge in anti-Muslim, xenophobic and racist acts,” including anti-Türkiye propaganda by supporters of the PKK terrorist group. “The developments reflect the worrying level of racist and discriminatory rhetoric in Europe and said Turkish citizens planning to visit countries where such demonstrations occur should be cautious and refrain from visiting areas with large crowds that support the ideologies mentioned above,” the Foreign Ministry said.
It also suggested that Turkish citizens stay calm if they experience such hostility in European countries and contact local security forces or the ministry, embassies and consulates.
