The Netherlands has asked its citizens to be cautious of any plans to travel to Turkey as the row between the two continues to escalate, with no signs of the storm calming any time soon, reports Telegraph.
Turkey was blocked from holding campaign rallies in Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. As a response to the blockage, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he would retaliate and accused the countries of ‘Nazism’.
“They are very nervous and cowardly. They are Nazi remnants, they are fascists,” the Turkish leader told a crowd of his supporters in Istanbul.
Holland had prevented Mr Erdoğan’s foreign minister from entering the country after which he would proceed to hold a pro-government rally together with Rotterdam residents of Turkish origin.
Dutch Travel Advisory
The Dutch Foreign Minister issued a travel advisory on Monday, urging its citizens living in Turkey to be weary of the standoff between the two countries.
The warning asked the Dutch to keep off crowded places as they were perceived to be likely attack zones against the foreigners. This warning was made even as the foreign ministry formally began a protest against Dutch envoy.
While responding to the “Nazism” accusations, Dutch deputy prime minister, Lodewijk Asscher said that a regime that is backwards from the perspective of humanity holds no moral authority to call them Nazis.
The two NATO allies are now at a standstill over their diplomatic progression.
What’s the origin of the Turkey-Netherlands row?
Europe has got millions of Turks scattered all over the EU countries. For instance, Germany alone is home to 3 million Turkish residents out of which 1.4 million are estimated to have attained the voting legibility.
Turkey proposed to conducted rallies across Europe that would encourage these people to take part in a 16th April referendum to expand the President’s powers. The rallies would have a significant impact in the election outcome, considering the Diaspora is in effect Turkey’s fourth-largest electoral district.
But Austria, Germany and the Netherlands blocked the rallies from being held in the three countries, citing that they could spark violence.
France permitted the gathering to proceed unopposed after officials said that there was nothing to fear.
Two Turkish ministers were barred from addressing rallies in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, with one of them escorted to the German border. This prompted protests in Rotterdam where Turkish flags were held up high. The police had to disperse the gatherings using dogs and water cannon.
This did not settle well with Turkey whose president to the Netherlands “a banana republic” and called upon the international community to sanction the Netherlands.
He also warned that the opposing countries would pay the price for having opposed the rallies.
As part of the retaliatory actions, Turkey summoned the Dutch charge d’affaires in Ankara and issued him with two notes – one protesting the treatment of Rotterdam protesters and the other protesting against how the minister escorted to Germany was treated. The Monday summoning was the third time in three days that the Dutch charge d’affaires has been summoned.
PM Binali Yildirim had issued a statement saying that his country would have a comprehensively written letter to the Turkish authorities condemning the “unacceptable treatment”.
He also called upon all the Turkish residents scattered all over Europe to remain calm and not fall prey of provocations prior to the upcoming referendum.
“There will be a stronger reprisal against the unacceptable treatment toward Turkey and ministers who have diplomatic immunity,” said Mr. Yildirim.
