Netherlands warned of ‘price to pay’
Erdogan lashes out after Turkish ministers stopped from holding pre-referendum rallies
TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the Netherlands yesterday it would pay a price for preventing top ministers from his country from holding rallies ahead of a referendum on expanding his powers, as a crisis escalated with Turkey’s key EU partners.
Erdogan renewed controversial accusations that the Netherlands – occupied by the Germans in World War 2 – was behaving like the Nazis in its treatment of Turkish ministers.
Analysts are predicting a tight outcome to the April 16 referendum on creating an executive presidency and Turkish ministers have planned rallies in key EU cities to win votes from millions of Turks resident abroad.
But Turkey’s Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya was expelled after being prevented from addressing a rally in Rotterdam.
Also this weekend, The Hague refused to allow Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s plane to land ahead of a planned rally.
“Hey Holland! If you are sacrificing TurkishDutch relations for the sake of the elections on Wednesday, you will pay a price,” an angry Erdogan told a ceremony in Istanbul, referring to the March 15 election in Turkey’s Nato ally. “They will learn what diplomacy is,” he said. Faced with an upsurge in support for the ultraright, European governments have come under pressure to take a hard line on Erdogan who is accused by critics of authoritarianism.
Erdogan reaffirmed his accusations from Saturday that the Dutch behaviour over the Turkish visits was “Nazism, fascism”.
Police clashed with pro-Erdogan demonstrators in the Netherlands overnight, while in Istanbul yesterday a man climbed on to the roof of the Dutch consulate and replaced the Dutch flag with a Turkish flag.
The flag was later taken down and Turkish officials insisted the consulate had not been entered from the outside and consular officials had hoisted the flag on their own initiative. The consulate declined to comment. A Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman said the Netherlands had protested to Turkish authorities over the incident.
The latest row came after Nato allies Turkey and Germany sparred over the cancellation of a series of referendum campaign events there.
“The West has shown its true face in the last couple of days,” Erdogan said. “What we have seen is a clear manifestation of Islamophobia.”
The president indicated he planned to travel to Europe for rallies, a move that could potentially create an even greater row.
“I can go to any country I want if I have a diplomatic passport,” he said.
Cavusoglu, meanwhile, was set to address a rally in Metz in France yesterday. The French foreign ministry had cleared his visit, an official said.
Kaya was stopped just outside the Turkish consulate by Dutch police, and after several hours of negotiations was escorted back to the German border.
The controversy sparked clashes in Rotterdam where, after several hours of calm demonstrations, police moved in early yesterday to disperse more than 1 000 people gathered near the Turkish consulate, charging the crowd on horseback and using dogs to regain control.
Protesters hit back, throwing rocks at riot police, while hundreds of cars jammed the streets blaring their hooters and revving their engines.
The Dutch government said Kaya was irresponsible for attempting to visit after being told she was not welcome.
The Netherlands is home to some 400 000 people of Turkish origin, and Ankara is keen to harness votes of the diaspora in Europe ahead of the April 16 constitutional referendum.
Germany is home to 1.4 million people eligible to vote in Turkey – the largest electoral base after the cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.