Dutch block rally by Turkish foreign minister
“He lied to us and didn’t tell the truth”, the mayor said. “Treating a female minister this way is very ugly”, Kaya told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, where she was welcomed by a crowd waving Turkish flags.
After his ministers were turned away, Mr Erdogan branded the Netherlands “Nazi remnants” and said the country will “pay the price” for the dispute.
On Sunday, Dutch authorities sealed off the Netherlands embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul in what was described as “security measures”, and blocked all roads leading to both buildings.
“The problem with Turkey was that it was very hard to agree with the foreign minister on the logistics of a visit he wanted to pay on Saturday to speak with a limited group of people in one of the Turkish consulates”, Rutte told the press conference.
“I’ve never experienced this before, but we want to be the more prudent party”, he said.
“I understand that they are angry but this is way out of line”, he said.
He said: “There will be a stronger reprisal against the unacceptable treatment toward Turkey and ministers who have diplomatic immunity”.
Wednesday’s election is regarded as a bellwether for European populism and will be watched not just to see whether the Netherlands embraces or rejects a swing to the right but for some indication of what’s likely to happen later this year in France and Germany.
According to the Hurriyet Daily News, the first note criticized the treatment of Turkish family minister and the second note reportedly expressed concern over what it called “disproportionate” response of the Dutch police to the peaceful gathering of protesters in front of the Rotterdam Consulate.
The ministry cited the diplomatic tensions between the countries for the decision.
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb accused the Turkish consul general of a “scandalous deception”, saying he had denied that the minister was coming despite government warnings to stay away.
The French Foreign Ministry urged calm and said there had been no reason to prohibit a meeting in France between Cavusoglu and a local Turkish association.
“Turkey has no obligation at this stage to continue the agreement since the European Union has failed to comply with it”, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, briefing journalists after the weekly council of ministers meeting, said the sanctions would apply until the Netherlands takes steps “to redress” the actions that Ankara sees as a grave insult.
What’s more, the president alone would be able to announce a state of emergency and dismiss parliament.
Turkey’s referendum vote will be April 16. In Germany alone, there are an estimated 1.4 million eligible voters, making it the fourth largest voting bloc after Turkey’s three biggest cities.
Opinion polls indicate the race is tight and Erdogan’s ruling party is trying to drum up support for the “yes” camp by campaigning among diaspora Turks elsewhere in Europe.
Erdogan – whose government is embroiled in a spiraling row with European governments over the cancellation of pro-Ankara rallies on their soil – earlier asked Merkel why she was “hiding terrorists” in her territory, accusing Berlin of not responding to 4,500 dossiers sent by Turkey on suspects.
Germany in particular has been critical of the mass arrests and purges that followed – with almost 100,000 civil servants removed from their posts.