Major diplomatic row erupts between Turkey and the Netherlands

Fueled by the latest strong-worded controversial remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tensions are feared to escalate and spread from a rally row between Turkey and the Netherlands in the former’s relations with European Union members.

A protester on Sunday took down the Dutch flag flying over the consulate in Istanbul and replaced it with a Turkish flag, Agence France-Presse said, citing its reporter at the scene.

Turkish President Recep President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on global organizations to speak out against the Netherlands, and impose sanctions on the country.

“It has been explained to our counterparts that this grave decision taken against Turkey and the Dutch Turkish community will cause serious problems diplomatically, politically, economically and in other areas”, the ministry said in a statement.

Both Germany and the Netherlands have a large number of citizens with Turkish voting rights. That triggered howls of protests from ministers in Berlin, who were already exercised by the detention of Deniz Yücel, a Turkish-German journalist working for Die Welt newspaper. “I understand they’re angry, but this of course was way out of line”.

It was the second time that Erdogan likened another country to the Nazis recently.

The Turkish government argues the changes would ensure stability and create more efficient governance, but opponents say it would lead to one-man rule and further inflame tensions in its diverse society.

And Swiss police on Friday blocked a rally supporting a “yes” vote in the referendum, amid uncertainty over whether the Turkish foreign minister would be allowed to host a similar event planned for Zurich this weekend.

According to Politico, there are 1.5 million people eligible to vote in Turkey’s referendum now living in Germany.

But on any future rallies, she said: “We continue to view such appearances by Turkish government representatives as possible as long as they are duly announced in a timely manner, and in an open way”.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that the dispute with Turkey over the campaign for the referendum and the arrest of a German-Turkish journalist made working on economic aid hard.

The Dutch government said it had asked Mr Cavusoglu to consider moving the rally to a small, more private setting.

Mr Rutte, who is running neck and neck with anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders in Dutch elections to be held on Wednesday, said the Netherlands was within its rights to block Turkish rallies, as they present a threat to public order.

That comment drew a sharp response from German leaders, with Chancellor Angela Merkel describing the comparison as “unacceptable”.

The stand-off was over plans by Turkish government officials to campaign in the Netherlands for a referendum back home.