Top Swiss diplomat defends Turkish coup response

Yves Rossier, state secretary of the foreign ministry, has defended the action of the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after an attempted coup last month. He also stressed the need for dialogue and reconciliation, adding that aggressive talk was a waste of time. In an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger and Der Bund newspapers on Wednesday, Rossier was asked whether he could accept the current situation in which Turks in Switzerland who don’t support Erdogan were being threatened by the Turkish government and affiliated organisations. “The tone adopted by some exponents is unpleasant,” Rossier admitted. “But it can’t be controlled. A lot is permitted in a political dispute. Criticism is allowed.” When pressed that these calls to denounce Erdogan critics could intimidate some people, Rossier replied that it was up to the justice authorities to decide whether those calls were punishable. “To what extent people are intimidated is another question,” ...