Ankara "will respond strongly" to the dissolution of a Turkish ultranationalist group in France
Supporters of the Turkish MHP form the rallying sign of the Gray Wolves at a rally in Istanbul in May 2015 (illustrative image).
AP Photo / Emrah Gurel
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
This is a new episode of the strong tensions that have poisoned relations between Paris and Ankara in recent weeks.
Turkey warned on Wednesday that it would "respond firmly" to the dissolution by France of the Turkish ultranationalist movement of the Gray Wolves, accused of inciting discrimination and hatred against Armenians and Kurds.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul
,
Anne Andlauer
In a statement with a particularly virulent tone, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs qualifies the French decision of "
provocation
".
He sees it as proof that the French government is "
completely under the thumb of Armenian circles of influence
", he enjoins it to "
protect the freedom of expression and assembly of the Turks in France
" and promises to "
respond to the firmest way
”.
► To read also: Who are the Gray Wolves, this small Turkish extremist group which will be dissolved in France?
Ankara qualifies as "
an imaginary object
" what the French authorities designate as the "
movement of the Gray Wolves
".
In Turkey, the "Gray Wolves" are a nickname given to members and supporters of the "Idealist Homes", a group that for 50 years has been in the orbit of the far-right ultra-nationalist party, the MHP.
If they have a legal existence in the country, those who call themselves "Gray Wolves", in Turkey and abroad, are often simple sympathizers of this ideology which considers religious and ethnic minorities as a threat.
Over the past five years, the “Gray Wolves” have become closer, in fact, to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, because the MHP has become the indispensable power ally of the Turkish head of state.
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