Turkish rioters fight police on Dutch streets
Row as visiting ministers barred
‘Unacceptable and irresponsible’
DUTCH riot police battled with more than 1,000 protesters yesterday as an unprecedented diplomatic row between Nato allies Turkey and the Netherlands turned to violence on the streets.
Tensions escalated after two Turkish ministers were barred from campaigning in Rotterdam to win the votes of expats for a referendum back home.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had earlier called the Dutch ‘Nazi remnants’, said the Netherlands will ‘pay the price’ for banning his ministers.
He accused the Dutch government of acting like a ‘banana republic’ and called for international organisations in Europe to impose sanctions on the country.
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was prevented from flying into Rotterdam on Saturday for a rally to whip up support for next month’s referendum which could boost Mr Erdogan’s powers. And family minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, who was also planning a rally, was denied entry to the Turkish consulate in the city and escorted back to the border with Germany.
The Dutch government acted over fears that such rallies would stoke tensions in the run-up to Wednesday’s general election after a campaign that has focused heavily on the issue of immigration from Muslim countries. The Netherlands is home to some 400,000 people of Turkish origin.
Far-Right Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders hopes the current wave of populism in Europe will help him secure victory but has lost his clear lead in the polls, leaving the race on a knife-edge.
Early yesterday riot police moved in to disperse more than 1,000 pro-Turkey demonstrators near the consulate in Rotterdam, charging the crowd on horseback and using dogs and water cannon to regain control. Protesters hit back by throwing rocks.
An angry Mr Erdogan warned the Dutch yesterday: ‘If you sacrifice Turkish-Dutch relations to the elections on Wednesday, then you will pay the price.’ A day after describing the Netherlands as ‘Nazi remnants’ he returned to the theme, declaring: ‘Nazism is still widespread in the West.’
Dutch premier Mark Rutte said its Nato ally was ‘acting in a totally unacceptable, irresponsible manner’ and Mr Erdogan should apologise.
Faced with an upsurge in support for the far-Right, European governments have come under pressure to take a hard line on the Turkish president who is accused by critics of authoritarianism. Although France allowed Mr Cavusoglu to address Turkish citizens in the city of Metz yesterday, Danish premier Lars Lokke Rasmussen last night postponed a visit to Copenhagen by his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim.
Mr Erdogan said: ‘The West has shown its true face. We have seen a clear manifestation of Islamophobia.’