Erdogan warns Dutch of new retaliation, makes massacre jibe

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned that the Netherlands would face more retaliation from Ankara in a spiralling diplomatic crisis, as he made a new jibe against the country over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

In an uncompromising speech, Erdogan said a ‘ yes’ vote in an April 16 referendum on expanding his powers would be the best response to Turkey’s “enemies” in a dispute that risks wrecking the entire Ankara- Brussels relationship.

He also said the Dutch character had been “broken” after Netherlands peacekeepers had failed to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in comments described as “repugnant” by The Hague.

In a dramatic escalation after the Netherlands prevented two Turkish ministers from holding rallies ahead of the referendum, Ankara said it was suspending high- level relations with the Hague in a raft of diplomatic sanctions.

Erdogan also late Monday lashed out at German Chancel- lor Angela Merkel for “supporting terrorists” as she backed the Netherlands in the increasingly acrimonious standoff, prompting an exasperated response from Berlin.

Far from stepping back, Erdogan accused the Netherlands of “state terror” in preventing Turkish ministers from holding pro-’ yes’ rallies.

“We are going to work more” on measures against the Netherlands, said Erdogan.

Erdogan had previously angered the Netherlands by saying the authorities had behaved like the Nazis.

Touching another raw nerve, he recalled the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, which Dutch UN peacekeepers failed to prevent in an episode that remains a national trauma to this day.

“The Netherlands and the Dutch, we know them from the Srebrenica massacre. We know how much their morality, their character is broken from the 8,000 Bosnians that were massacred,” Erdogan said.