Turkey’s foreign ministry has summoned the Swiss ambassador to Ankara over a demonstration in Zurich against President Tayyip Erdoğan, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing Turkish diplomatic sources.
Anadolu said Swiss Ambassador Jean Daniel Ruch was summoned to the ministry on Thursday over the burning of an Erdoğan effigy and a Turkish flag as well as the display of banners during the demonstration in Zurich on Wednesday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozbay told Ruch that the acts were unacceptable and demanded an investigation to determine those involved.
The protestors, who are affiliated with the Zurich Revolutionary Strike Collective, a group supportive of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), staged the anti-Erdoğan demonstration during a feminist protest in the city attended by thousands of women.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.
Similar protests recently taking place in Sweden by the PKK supporters have strained Turkey’s relations with the country, which aspires to join NATO but faces objections from Turkey.