diplomacy
German ambassador back after expulsion from Chad
Expelled from Chad: Germany’s Ambassador Jan-Christian Gordon Kricke. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
Jan-Christian Gordon Kricke is accused of a “rude attitude” and “lack of respect for diplomatic customs”. The Foreign Office cannot understand this.
The German ambassador in Chad, Jan-Christian Gordon Kricke, is back in Germany after being expelled from the Central African country. The diplomat landed in a plane in Berlin, as the dpa learned. Kricke had previously been seen off by some ambassadors from friendly states at the airport in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena. Chad had declared the German diplomat an “undesirable person” and asked him to leave the country within 48 hours.
The government of the country of 17 million people justified the expulsion with a “rude attitude” on the part of the ambassador and “lack of respect for diplomatic customs”. There was no further justification. It is suspected that criticism of the current transitional government in Chad is behind it. The Foreign Office said the reasons for the expulsion were incomprehensible. The ministry is in contact with the government in Chad.
The country in the Sahel region, which is riddled with poverty and corruption and borders Libya to the north and Niger to the west, has been governed by President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno since April 2021. Last fall there were demonstrations that were bloodily suppressed. Foreign diplomats in the country had criticized the violence. Kricke has been ambassador to Chad since 2021.